Exhibition to showcase rare bird art

Research and art will collide at a new exhibition showcasing centuries old books and original prints by the scientists who first recorded the now threatened Gouldian Finch.

“Our feathered friends… the art of birds”, which celebrates Australia’s unique birdlife, will highlight the plight of the endangered Yellow Chat, enable visitors to watch how Bower Birds make their nests, and follow the Global Shorebird migrations between the North and South Poles.

CDU Art Collection and Art Gallery curator Joanna Barrkman said a highlight of the exhibition would include John Gould prints borrowed from a local collector, including the original book written by Captain Arthur Philip on his voyage from England to Botany Bay in 1787, which also illustrates Australian birds. 

“The contribution also includes18 original lithographic and hand-coloured prints of birds by English naturalists John Gould, based on his expedition with his wife Elizabeth Gould to Australia from 1838 to 1840 to document the continent’s wildlife,” she said.

Ms Barrkman said the exhibition would include sculptures, works on paper, weavings, film, ceramics and paintings by artists from around the world including Indigenous artists from remote regions of the Northern Territory, as well as Darwin-based artists.

“The exhibition profiles creative interpretations of bird species, by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists that illustrate the significant relationship between people and birds in Central Australia and the Top End.”

She said the exhibition would bring together several collections of artworks and provide an opportunity for visitors to learn more about current research at CDU with talks by internationally renowned bird experts and local researchers on offer.

“Our feathered friends… the art of birds” will be accompanied by a suite of public programs featuring academic research that is spearheaded by staff and students from CDU,” Ms Barrkman said.

Internationally renowned bird specialist Professor Stephen Garnett will deliver a public lecture on the NT’s birdlife and a group of CDU doctoral candidates, who are researching bird species, habitat management and migration habits, also will present talks.

Ms Barrkman said a special unveiling at the exhibition opening would signal the start of a fundraising campaign to help to bolster research on the endangered Yellow Chat.

The exhibition will be open to the public from Thursday 13 October until 25 February 2017. For more information visit W: cdu.edu.au/artgallery.