Country : Australia
Materials : China, slate, Apoxie Sculpt, fused glass, oro, tinted thinset
Dimensions : 30 x 30 cms
The Australian white ibis has evolved to adapt well to our urban environment by gleaning food; so well that it poses a threat to its own survival. It has been designated ‘Bin Chicken’ by irritated urbanites, while its eggs are coated in oil to keep the breeding pair fruitlessly incubating for weeks. But meanwhile, man is busy ensuring his own extinction by war, uncontrolled development and political maneuvering; all led by voracious greed. The ibis is a regal bird, revered by the Egyptians and worthy of our regard.
Jurors’ Comments:
“This work grabs you immediately. It honours this magnificent bird, the straw-necked Ibis that man has turned into the ‘bin chicken’! We love the luscious use of larger pieces of glass that shine. The artist’s considered use of materials is also profoundly descriptive in that the white pieces are reminiscent of a shattered egg, pointing to the fragility of the bird’s very existence in the trap of the apparent convenience of a man-made environment. Set on a background that alludes to the bird’s natural habitat as a memory; the bird looks back. Can it draw itself back to its own world?”