A Little Bird Told Me

David Cragg is an artist of First Nations, Irish and Scottish descent, working as a muralist, designer, writer, builder, photographer, sculptor and youth/disability community worker.

For ‘A Little Bird Told Me’, he has produced a colourful sculpture series featuring 14 birds native to the places he calls home – Cadigal Land (Sydney) and Wodi Wodi Land (Illawarra).

Lacing his works with irony and a sense of urgency, David has used Australian forestry Formply to make his sculptures (the very same material that is created from the unsustainable logging of the featured birds’ habitat) and building supplies destined for landfill which he salvaged from construction sites around the area. In pushing forward with these practices to further our modern civilisation and lifestyle, we are directly responsible for the rapidly dwindling populations and forced migration of these birds, as well as the annual clearing of many thousands of square kilometres of ancient virgin bushland.

Analogous to the exhibition is the 2019 National Reconciliation Week theme of “Grounded in Truth, Walk Together with Courage”. David hopes that Australians from all backgrounds will participate in a movement towards a unified future where we engage in challenging conversations, and unlearn and relearn what we know, in order to heal from the wounds created by our colonial history and ground ourselves in the foundation of truth.

Both the reconciliation and environmental activism journeys are interconnected and ultimately require all of us to walk together with courage.

‘A Little Bird Told Me’ is presented by Liberty Place, and curated and produced by aMBUSH Gallery (an initiative of Wiltshire + Dimas Management).

Location:
Liberty Place Lobby (ANZ Tower)
161 Castlereagh Street or 242 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000