The Heart Derelict

Fiona Pardington shows 6 of her 9 mural-size prints from the series "The Heart Derelict" at Jonathan Smart Gallery through July 2008. They speak of the fugitive as something present, past and hauntingly beautiful. A fully illustrated catalogue is now available.

 

Engari te titi e tangi haere ana - The titi that call as they go

Engari te titi e tangi haere ana..a,
whai toko rua rawa raua..a.
Tenei ko au nei, e manu..e
kai te hua Kiwi I mahue I te tawai..e
ka toro te rakau kai runga..a
ka hoki mai, ki te pao
ka whai uri ki ahau

Fortunate the titi, as it cries in flight
for it has the company of its mate
as for me, my bird
I am like the egg abandoned by the Kiwi at the tawai roots
that spread and embrace it
and when the mother returns for the hatchling
the progeny is such as I

Mihiketekapua*

A tree is felled and a nest has fallen. Eggs broken and cracked, others intact lie scattered on the forest floor. The spindly nest is found in one piece, well-threaded grasses and twigs withstanding the fall. A bird cries, her loss ricocheting from tree to tree.

The Otago Museum is home to numerous native and exotic birds' nests. Found and collected, these nests are classified as ornithological specimens, catalogued alongside examples of extinct birds, others who battle for survival and those that currently thrive. The collection represents New Zealand birdlife, past and present, and while some items are displayed, others are housed in controlled storage for long periods of time, far removed from the forests, shorelines and gardens they once inhabited.

Fiona Pardington's study of nests from the Otago Museum collection moves beyond conventional museological descriptions and references. Pardington builds on the information she is given - or in some cases details unknown - to create a profile for these humble nests. From a bird's-eye perspective Pardington photographs her subject, and with empathy awards these taonga a voice, commanding silence so their stories can be heard.

For Pardington, the nest is a transformative place, a mystical space in a constant state of flux. Pardington's nests are not represented as static specimens but rather living forms, breathing and beating, and each unique in character and appearance. Pardington engages in a process of cultural retrieval, and through the lens she bears witness to the essence of taonga.

 

*Quoted from Mervyn McLean and Margaret Orbell, Songs of a Kaumatua Sung by Kino Hughes, Auckland, 2002, p. 155.

Excerpt from text by Gina Irish, in the catalogue "The Heart Derelict"

 

 

Selected works

Dunnock

Pahirinui (chaffinch)

Riroriro (shining cuckoo)

Stephens Island Wren

Kaka

Huia Architecture