Evolving in isolation for millions of years, the native birds of Aotearoa New Zealand are living records of ancient lineages - preserving a version of the world long vanished elsewhere. This series honours that deep time and their quiet endurance.
Look into their eyes and you’ll see how fully they live in the immediacy of life. They remind us that we are animals too—that we once lived with the same attunement to the natural world. If you listen closely, their whispers call us back to that connection. And it is in that return that we remember how to be the best version of ourselves.
Developed over a decade, the series was created in collaboration with organisations working at the frontlines of care and conservation, including the Department of Conservation, Zealandia, Wellington Zoo, and the animal welfare trust HUHA. It was first exhibited with Olsen Gallery at the 2025 Aotearoa Art Fair in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland—one of the region’s most significant platforms for contemporary art - and became the subject of a major feature in the New Zealand Herald at launch.
