253 individual etchings of Black Robins at the S.O Fine Art Christmas exhibition 2019/20. These are life size depictions of the Black Robin and represent the entire population, up from only 5 birds in 1981. For sale individually.
Biography
Born in 1972 in Dunedin, New Zealand. Educated at the Otago School of Fine Art, NZ. Employed as an animation artist by Vidmark Television, NZ from 1994-1996. In 1997 he moved to Dublin to become a member of the Graphic Studio Dublin.
He has worked as a printmaker at Stoney Road Press in Dublin since 2002 and shows in Ireland, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
Artist’s statement
I enjoy mechanics and the exposed working of the machine. Machines that look like something from the industrial revolution, but poorly designed. It is as if they might have once existed, but didn’t stand the test of time. With the benefit of hindsight they were a ridiculous idea. I am fascinated by them, not so much the workings of them but that they work at all.
The story of the Black robin
The Chatham Island robin or Black robin is native to a group of islands off the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Prior to the arrival of Polynesian and later European settlers, the country had effectively been a bird sanctuary. The absence of mammals meant that birds had no natural predators and in many cases lost the ability to fly. With the settlers came the introduction of rats, cats and ferrets which decimated the vulnerable bird population and forced many to extinction.
By 1870 the Black robin had been confined to Little Mangere Island 800km from the mainland of New Zealand. By 1979 the population had dwindled to only five birds, two female and three males. A conservation team lead by Don Merton embarked on a breeding program that involved taking the eggs before hatching and placing them in the nests of other birds, specifically the Chatham Island Tomtit. Of the two remaining females only one managed to successfully reproduce. She was named Old Blue after the blue band she wore for identification.
The average life span of a Black robin is 4 years. Old Blue lived to be 13 and is undoubtedly the mother of her species. Currently the population is approximately 250, each of which is a direct decendent of this remarkably little bird. This is her family tree.
The Chatham Island robin or Black robin is native to a group of islands off the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. Prior to the arrival of Polynesian and later European settlers, the country had effectively been a bird sanctuary. The absence of mammals meant that birds had no natural predators and in many cases lost the ability to fly. With the settlers came the introduction of rats, cats and ferrets which decimated the vulnerable bird population and forced many to extinction.
By 1870 the Black robin had been confined to Little Mangere Island 800km from the mainland of New Zealand. By 1979 the population had dwindled to only five birds, two female and three males. A conservation team lead by Don Merton embarked on a breeding program that involved taking the eggs before hatching and placing them in the nests of other birds, specifically the Chatham Island Tomtit. Of the two remaining females only one managed to successfully reproduce. She was named Old Blue after the blue band she wore for identification.
The average life span of a Black robin is 4 years. Old Blue lived to be 13 and is undoubtedly the mother of her species. Currently the population is approximately 250, each of which is a direct decendent of this remarkably little bird. This is her family tree.
