A new exhibition by Waikanae textile artist Sara Boland entitled “Red List, Red Thread” opened on the weekend in Tutere Gallery’s exhibition space.
In this body of work Sara Boland explores the colour, texture and pattern of five critically endangered birds that are currently listed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.
The five birds the exhibition focuses on are the Glaucous Macaw from South America, the Forest Owlet from Central India, the Seychelles Paradise-Flycatcher from the Seychelles Islands, the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker from South Eastern USA and Cuba and the Sapphire-Bellied Hummingbird from Columbia. These birds are all classified as critically endangered.
The Red List and these birds have inspired Sara to create works that raise questions around our responsibility and our role in the depletion and extinction of threatened species.
Particularly haunting are the ghost like bird dolls she has created, stripped of their colour, they gaze at you and indeed force you to examine the impact mankind has had and continues to have around the world. What a sad, grey place our world would be without the colour, vibrancy, song and life these birds provide.
A percentage of sales from this collection will be donated to the IUCN.
“Red List, Red Thread” will run through until January 21 2018.
