2023, cast bronze

Bellbird is part of a new series of works taking a wry look at the nicknames given to New Zealand birds by the early European settlers.

A Korimako (bellbird) perches on a dinner bell inscribed with Sir Jospeh Bank’s coat of arms. Banks was unlikely to have carried such an item aboard HMS Endeavour, however in reading the descriptions of how the gentlemen ate compared to the ship’s crew, my imagination took its own course. 

The bellbird was named for it’s beautiful musical song which Joseph Banks described in his journal as “the most melodious wild music I have ever heard, almost imitating small bells but with the most tuneable silver sound imaginable…”