Flock of artful birds to roost at COPACC for CrossXpollinatioN 2018
Published on 25 June 2018
About 300 artful birds will roost in the COPACC foyer as part of the 2018 CrossXpollinatioN fibre and textile exhibition from July 7 to 29.
The migratory journey of the red necked stint served as inspiration for the installation called Small Birds, Long Journey, created by local primary and some secondary school students.
Community environmental artist Veronica Phillips led local children through the process of creating the birds in partnership with more than a dozen regional schools – Alvie, Beeac, Birregurra, Carlisle River, Colac, Forrest, Deans Marsh, Lismore, St Brendan's, St Mary's and Winchelsea primary schools, as well as year seven students from Colac’s Trinity College.
In a nod to CrossXpollinatioN’s new Tarndie Fibre Art Award, the lovingly-created birds are filled with local wool sourced from sheep grown in the shadows of Mt Gellibrand.
Ms Phillips said the red necked stint weighed little more than a box of matches, but made an annual migration from Siberia to the southern shores of Victoria.
“We used CrossXpollinatioN’s 2018 theme of Journeys to talk about migratory birds, in particular the red necked stint which makes a fascinating journey each year from one end of the earth to the other,” Ms Phillips said.
“The children used their imaginations to tie their bird creations into the theme of Journeys using raw sheep’s wool donated by a local farmer, recycled woollen blankets, felt, feathers, buttons, yarns and hessian.
“We kept our materials as natural and recycled as possible with a few interesting additions thrown in for colour.”
Small Birds, Long Journey will be on display in the COPACC foyer for the duration of CrossXpollinatioN.
Acting COPACC Manager Tamzin McLennan explained that each year CrossXpollinatioN incorporated a school project as a way of engaging local and regional children with the exhibition.
“I would like to thank Veronica for the amazing work she has done extending the reach of CrossXpollinatioN into our schools,” Ms McLennan said.
“We at COPACC hope that this experience will foster a love of fibre and textile art in our local children that might one day extend to them entering, or maybe featuring, in CrossXpollinatioN in years to come.”
CrossXpollinatioN is on at COPACC from July 7-29, and at the Red Rock Regional Theatre and Gallery from June 30-July 29.
CrossXpollinatioN is proudly sponsored by Irrewarra Sourdough, Tarndie and Star Printing.