The exhibition takes its title from Songs of Innocence by William Blake. For Blake, innocence was not naivety, but a primary state of being, an unselfconscious way of seeing the world before life experience changes our perception. It is a state of clarity, closer to how a child encounters life, open and attentive.

This body of work brings together new portraits created in collaboration with organisations working at the forefront of wildlife care and conservation. Each work emerges through these relationships and the environments in which the birds are encountered.

A portrait of a Great Horned Owl named Wilfred was made at the Ojai Raptor Center in California, a centre widely respected for its long standing commitment to the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of injured and orphaned raptors. Their work combines both clinical expertise with a deep respect for the birds in their care, with a focus on returning birds to the wild.

A critically endangered Plains Wanderer was photographed through Taronga Zoo’s breeding and reintroduction program. Once widespread across south eastern Australia, the species has undergone a severe decline. Taronga, in partnership with conservation organisations, has successfully bred Plains Wanderers in captivity and reintroduced individuals into protected grassland habitats, contributing to the stabilisation of remaining populations and offering a road for recovery.

Each work reflects a different form of care, from long term rehabilitation to managed breeding programs, and the quiet, often unseen efforts that support the survival of these species.

Alongside the photographic works, my collaborator Melvin J. Montalban and I present two video artworks drawn from our installation Temple. Released for the first time as limited editions, Red-tail and Blush extend the stillness of the photographic portraits into moving image, inviting a slower, more sustained encounter.

Across all works, I return to a simple proposition. To notice and, even if briefly, to return to a state of innocence.