The artists gratefully acknowledge the support of ArtsACT project funding.

Birds are generally active in the daytime, they tend to live openly alongside and seemingly impervious to people. Tweets, screeches, trills and chirps from flitting forms surround us when we visit bush or parkland. In our own backyards flashes of plumage attract our attention, delighting us and stimulating our curiosity.  The overt existence of birds means that changes in bird numbers may be readily evident to communities and act as early warning signs of deteriorating environmental situations. Indeed, shifts in the fortunes of avian species serve as a harbinger for outcomes of human interactions with the natural world.

In this era of the Anthropocene where human activity is impacting Earth’s ecosystems and climate there is an associated effect on plant and animal biodiversity. Many of us experience a sense of impotent, paralysing dread at the frequent news of another lost species.  Harbinger seeks to counter this paralysis by presenting artworks that respond to stories of threats and also those of positive interactions between people and the natural environment.

Harbinger offers signs of hope which reside within the actions of individuals and communities to value and protect their local birds.