In the parlance of my craft, journalism, young reporters are urged to make their stories “sing”. Attending the opening of bird artist Belinda Kurczok’s latest exhibition, it occurred to me that the same applied to her art. Her birds, especially a painting of playful swift parrots, are alive, full of spirit. They sing.
In spring I missed the arrival of the migratory parrots because I was in Britain but earlier this month I managed to get my annual swiftie “fix” when I viewed Belinda’s painting of a pair of the acrobatic birds.
Tasmania is internationally known for its wildlife art and I always make a point of visiting exhibitions when they open here.
What I especially enjoy about Belinda’s work is its attention to detail, enhanced by the medium of matte acrylic, used with a watercolour technique. As can be seen in the collection exhibited at the Salamanca Arts Centre, she utilises a natural white background which draws attention to her subjects.
Belinda also chooses to focus on Tasmanian endemic flora and fauna. She has much to work on. Tasmania is particularly rich in birdlife and, in relation to its size, has more endemic species than anywhere else in Australia. Victoria has none and New South Wales only one.
Even species that might also be found on the mainland have sub-species here markedly different to those over Bass Strait. The wedge-tailed eagle in Tasmania is more rufous in colour and bigger than the mainland one, making it the fourth largest eagle in the world.
Along with the endemic species, there are two which only breed here – the swift and another small parrot, the orange-bellied.
The swift parrot, though, remains my favourite and looking at the pair indulging in acrobatics in Belinda’s painting it’s almost as if I can hear their “peep-peep-peep” call.
But all is not well in the swiftie world. Both the orange-bellied and swift parrots are critically endangered, the swift down to a 700 birds, when 20 years ago the population had stood at about 2000. The orange-bellied is down to a mere 90 birds.
There are genuine fears that the swift and orange-bellied parrots are heading for extinction. While on holiday in Britain I went to the Natural History Museum in London to see an exhibition on extinct birds, displayed as stuffed and mounted specimens.
It occurred to me then, thinking of the swift parrots arriving back home in Hobart, this could be their fate if we did not take urgent action to halt the logging of their blue gum habitat.
There’s a real danger that, like the specimens in museums, our only memory of their antics and beauty will lie in static displays behind glass or in the work of artists like Belinda who, paradoxically, strive to bring them to life.
The exhibition runs until Wednesday, April 29.