A series of prints showing trees, feathers, black cockatoos and casuarina branches with two small sculptural works featuring single feathers mounted in a rough timber vase..

Abbotsleigh

Ghosts of the casuarinas: The loss of the Glossy Black Cockatoo

Printmaking

Lino print, drypoint etching

The 2020 bushfires devastated the habitat of Glossy Black Cockatoos, destroying their food source of casuarina nuts and leading to a population decrease of over 70 percent. In my body of work I used the different colours of fire, from blue to a flaming red, to express the panic and fear of dispossession when both animals and humans were forced from their homes. Contrasting intense colour and charred greys I represent the decay and death in the aftermath of the fires. I see the cockatoos as symbolising our intimate relationship with the land and its native animals.