Brimming with beauty and loss, the avian portraits of Fiona Pardington (Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Clan Cameron of Erracht) resurrect the charisma and wildness of native birds preserved as taxidermy specimens in museum collections around Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.

Ancestral memory is brought to life under Pardington’s gaze. One of Aotearoa’s most powerful contemporary artists, Pardington’s practice captivates audiences with her profound ability to convey the intangible through exquisitely composed photographs. On these pages, her manu are not merely replicated but reborn.

This new book presents a rich and brilliant selection of texts by Geoffrey Batchen, Maia Nuku (Ngāi Tai), Hana O’Regan (Kāi Tahu), Harry Rickit (Te Arawa, Ngāpuhi), Megan Tamati-Quennell (Te Ātiawa, Kāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu) and Andrew Paul Wood alongside Pardington’s exquisite artworks. It explores the practice of an artist at the height of her career and reveals the monumental works she has created for the New Zealand Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale.

NZ $75.00 incl. GST

Authors: Geoffrey Batchen, Maia Nuku, Hana O’Regan, Harry Rickit,
Megan Tamati-Quennell, Andrew Paul Wood
ISBN 9781877375866
Dimensions 284 x 215 mm, 112 pages