Bev Hogg: Vanishing

 

"Trees and birds are intrinsically linked. One can't exist without the other. Like the ubiquitous magpie keeping order, patrolling throughout our shared suburbs. This exhibition explores notions of vanishing and in plain sight, or one could say vanishing in plain sight. It happens cumulatively a bit over here and over there. Yet, we don't notice our effect, our bigger impact, our trade offs, of what we are doing, and what is disappearing slowly bit by bit. We don't see the numbers dwindling.

Mt Majura Natural Reserve is my muse. Watching birds on the edge of suburban Canberra for over 30 years gives me insight into this revolving movement of ecological change. Displacement, relocation and replacement. Social order and species order. Squabbles over the limited tree hollows, migratory swift parrots' infrequent seasonal visits, while others, the generalists, adapt readily to the human altered world, not picky about what they eat or where they nest.

 

A reminder that we too, are nature balanced in her palm."

 

- Bev Hogg