High Society take flight with Australia Post
Yet another career highlight, to share as three of my artworks, all from my series High Society, are featured on Australia Post stamps.
When I think of the significance of postage stamps, I picture them reserved for the heads of royalty. To have your face canonised in a stamp would surely be one of the highest honours and signifies to the world of your importance and uniqueness to your Country. Today I am honoured that the Australian Post Office has decided to give that honour to the Budgerigar. A colourful, iconic, tiny parrot native to Australia. When I first exhibited budgies in 2010 (photographed in 2008) at human scale I could only dream one day they would end up on a postage stamp.
The stamps feature ‘Celery’, ‘The Tweets’ and ‘Bluey and Liquorice’, all budgerigars cared for by Alison Archbold who has been breeding budgerigars for more than 48 years. Alison and I spoke for over a year before I worked with her birds. I stayed on her farm where she has spent the last 19 years with her husband re-foresting paddocks for wildlife, raising heritage-breed hens to produce the most beautiful coloured eggs, taking on rescued animals along with her pet alpacas and black headed Dorper sheep, welcoming kangaroos that lie around the property like dogs and then, of course, looking after her supermodel budgerigars. It’s an exciting day for me, for Alison and for Australian wildlife .
The stamps are now available from Australia Post offices and online from Australia Post’s website. https://auspost.com.au/shop/collectables/stamp-issues/australian-stamps/budgerigars