Bad Bird #12

Abstract

Wild life photography typically captures images of animals and birds in their native habitat and focuses on details of expression, foliage and environment. Art-based photomedia practices can both question and work with the conventions of ‘nature’ portraiture and photography, often revealing anthropomorphic biases. At the same time, by creating images of wildlife, artists may also contribute to the archival project of preserving our knowledge of endangered species. Roberts-Goodwin’s photomedia research asks how it might be possible to combine both a revelation of anthropomorphism and contribute to ethical issues surrounding the human relation to endangered species.

The work Bad Bird #12 and the Bad Bird series comprised the visual aesthetic and exhibited outcomes of research related to endangered species and the inversion of the traditional genre of wildlife portraiture. The research conducted with the Australian Museum’s Department of Ornithology, contributes to the identification of endangered avian species via plumage, markings, and relative differences between the portraits in upper-body proportions. Each ‘portrait’ faces away from the camera, confounding the viewer’s desire to project human characters and temperament onto the bird.

The Bad Bird series was supported by an Australian Council New Work 2003 Visual Arts Grant, a UNSW Faculty Grant and supported by the Andy Warhol and Rockerfeller Residency at the IEA (Institute of Electronic Arts) New York University, Alfred, New York, USA. Twenty works from this series (80 works) were exhibited at a solo exhibition at Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney ( 2003) and Fosdick Nelson Gallery, New York, USA.