Dead Flat Bird

Good Grief Gallery, Hobart, Tasmania, 2024.

Dead Flat Bird, AP (2023). Digital Photograph, Inkjet Print on Canson Photographic Rag 310gsm with Epson Archival Inks behind UV70 Glass. 850mm x 1250mm. Photo: Harry Holcombe-James

This is a still life of a dead flat bird, photographed after it was found outside of my art studio. This bird first appeared as a fallen body in the driveway, becoming an anticipated moment of interest in my daily routine. The driveway is made of asphalt with high brick walls either side, creating a container of preservation or slow decay. Over a period of weeks I watched as it was soaked by continuous rains and progressively flattened by the comings and goings of the building’s vehicles. The rain stopped and the sun came out baking the bird to the brittle crispness of its current form. This work is part of an ongoing series documenting my interactions with death, decay and the aesthetics of mortality within human environments.

Dead Flat Bird, AP. Digital Photograph, Inkjet Print on Canson Photographic Rag 310gsm with Epson Archival Inks behind UV70 Glass.
Photo: Harry Holcombe-James

Dead Flat Bird, AP. Digital Photograph, Inkjet Print on Canson Photographic Rag 310gsm with Epson Archival Inks behind UV70 Glass.
Photo: Harry Holcombe-James