Requiem for a Black Cockatoo

Requiem for a Black Cockatoo is made from salvaged wood furniture, and patinated with a vinegar-tea solution. Through my practice of appropriating discarded timber furniture from the tip and kerbs to make artworks, I address the connection between consumerism and habitat loss. 'Requiem for black cockatoo' juxtaposes detritus of consumer culture with the hidden costs of deforestation, including reductions of wildlife habitat. Tree hollow availability is the critical limiting factor on Australian bird populations. Thus, hollow scarcity has threatened or endangered many native species. The fossil-like 'Requiem for black cockatoo' addresses the perceptual disconnect between unquenchable desire for new product, a voracious need for natural resources, an uncritical stance toward waste, and collateral damage to ecosystems.