Edward Russell
You’ve got your Hitchcockian birds, Pollock’s Bird, Max Ernst’s many works featuring birds, Picasso’s affinity for owls, your godly birds as seen in ancient art, and your scientific and natural history illustrations, as well.
Petrina Hicks
Shenae & Jade 2005
light jet print, edition of 8
Courtesy of the artist and THIS IS NO FANTASY + dianne tanzer gallery, Melbourne and Michael Reid, Sydney
Birds, the physical being and the metaphor they embody, make for apt artistic inspiration — and an exciting upcoming exhibition at MPRG (Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery) will be taking full advantage of the feathered muses.
The exhibition, called Birds: Flight Paths in Australian Art, has been two years in the making, and will explore the science, symbolism, beauty, and curiosity of birds. Set to showcase 70 works by 50 contemporary and modern Australian artists, the collection will feature works ranging from the decorative arts to painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, and installation pieces.
Christian Thompson
Rocks on Your Belly 2013
C-type print
Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi
Artists on the slate to take part in Birds: Flight Paths in Australian Art include Brook Andrew, Fiona Hall, John Wolseley, Ben Quilty, Christian Thompson, Kate Rohde, Petrina Hicks, Trent Park and Louise Weaver. Works by Albert Tucker, Rover Thomas and Ginger Riley will also feature in the exhibition.
Birds: Flight Paths in Australian Art will also be putting a very home-grown spin on the subject of birds, which is fitting considering the great and unique ecosystem we’re so fortunate to have in Australia.
Apart from just celebrating local fauna like kookaburras, galahs, emus and cockatoos, the exhibition will also shine a light on the fast encroaching threats on our fragile ecology. Fiona Hall’s work will feature a night parrot dressed in camouflage to symbolise the need to protect it from extinction, Louise Weaver is presenting a crocheted and stitched galah in a classic taxidermy pose, and Penny Byrne’s work contains ceramic parrots kept under glass with contemporary detritus.
Louise Weaver
Galah (Wild Ribbons instead of sleep) 2007–08
hand crocheted lambswool over taxidermied Galah (Eulophus roseicapillus),
grey boxwood, MDF
Michael Buxton Collection
Courtesy of Darren Knight Gallery
Offering an interesting juxtaposition to the contemporary and modern pieces on show will be iconic works by colonial artists John Lewin and Richard Browne and early 20th century artists Sydney Long and Hans Heysen.
Another exciting addition to the exhibition will be the specially commissioned interactive work by Juan Ford. Ford will be providing thousands of bird stickers to visitors, who will be invited to help create a bird-filled landscape.
Additionally, the exhibition will also feature Melbourne artist Kenny Pittock, who is taking part in the newly announced artist-in-residence programme. Pittock will be completing research for his contribution during his residency in October, at the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Police Point Artist in Residence cottage. His project is an off-beat colouring book which focuses on the birds found around the Mornington Peninsula.
Arthur Boyd
Lovers in a boat at Hastings c.1955
oil on perspex
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Birds: Flight Paths in Australian Art will run from December 2, 2016 — February 12, 2017.
Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery is located at Civic Reserve, Dunns Road, Mornington. The gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm. Closed Mondays.
Admission to the exhibition will be $4 for adults and $2 concession.
You can find more information about MPRG and Birds: Flight Paths in Australian Art at http://mprg.mornpen.vic.gov.au/Home.
