Visions of Zealandia - Solo Exhibition June-Aug 2017

Imagine a verdant valley overflowing with native birds and plants because they're protected from introduced predators; an oasis in a modern city; a chance to reconnect with what we've lost - and you get a glimpse of the Zealandia Vision. In my exhibition at Zealandia EcoSanctuary, I am presenting work from three series that explore this vision: • "Birds of a feather" where the striking and subtle colours of the rare and endangered birds that live at Zealandia are celebrated in a series of painterly portraits. From the shy kākā kura to the stately tūī, each bird is already a work of art. • "Visions of Zealandia" illustrates the struggle for wild birds adapting to living in a modern biophilic city and the vision of taking 500 years to restore the pre-human ecosystem - the length of time it takes for the forest canopy to recover to maturity. • "Flights of fancy" where my imagination takes over and roles are reversed - what would the curious and intelligent kākā parrots do in a post-human world?