Picture
Trophy - Ground Parrot. 2018. 38 x 45.7cm. Acrylic on board.

Trophy
ARO Gallery 27 Feb - 10 Mar 2018

‘Trophy’ draws on images and objects from early colonial natural history illustration and Victorian era colonial silverware and presents a meditation on the persistence of unique Australian nature despite attempts to mould the natural environment into a comprehensible European frame.
 
Australia was colonised at a time when European society was undergoing a great change towards the dominance of rationalism and the rise of science.  Colonial ‘Trophies’ of natural history reflected the hunt for knowledge and unique specimens for the competitive pursuits of collection, publication and display.  Early colonists supplied this market for curious creatures from the unknown South Land, selling collected specimens for taxidermy, cabinets of curiosities or live displays in Britain.  As colonial society developed, the animals and plants of Australia were denigrated as a reflection of the lesser value of colonial societies as viewed from Britain. (Olsen 2010)  During the mid-1800s colonial silverware depicted clichéd and sanitised versions of a tamed Australia.
 
All the creatures depicted in these works still exist, although some are now threatened with extinction (such as the Bilby).  The Fluffy (Yellow-bellied Glider), Ground Parrot, Pygmy Possum, Lyre Bird and Kangaroo survive in the Sydney region.  The Eastern Quoll was much maligned as a chicken killer and is now extinct in Sydney.
 
Ref: Olsen, P. 2010. Upside Down World.  National Library of Australia. Canberra.
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About the artist
Grace's art practice is concerned with the human experience of living within the contemporary challenges of climate change, species loss and overwhelming technological transformations.  Grace's approach is informed by a background in biology and environmental management.

Grace received a Master of Art at University of New South Wales Art & Design in 2015. She has been a finalist in the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize and Jenny Birt Painting Award, and participated in group shows in Sydney since 2014.  She works and lives in Sydney, Australia.