Joanna Braithwaite

Pecking Order 

19 Nov - 17 December

Darren Knight Gallery

Joanna Braithwaite  Emissary  198x198cm  courtesy of Darren Knight Gallery

"In Pecking Order Joanna Braithwaite employs techniques of formal portraiture where the sitter’s attire or accoutrements can suggest something about them which otherwise would remain inexplicit. In this case, the subjects are birds who wear tokens, headscarves or jewellery which make reference to Australian history or culture, providing a lens through which to view the otherwise simply avian subject.

Braithwaite has focused on species of birds sighted by early explorers of Australia, as well as interweaving cultural ideas and artifacts with historical references. Little Corellas (first sighted from a sailing ship around 1669), Rajah Shelducks, black cockatoos and kookaburras all feature in this Pecking Order, amongst references to Donald Horne’s ‘lucky country’, our convict past, and our multicultural present. 
Beyond these signs and symbols lie further questions about the identities and implications of Braithwaite’s ‘sitters’, and it is the artist’s typically insightful humanizing of these subjects that invites further investigation. The different accessories worn by each subject encourage us to ascribe particular characteristics to them, revealing as much about our own tendencies than that of the bird in question. "

Joanna Braithwaite Flock together no.10 30x35cm Darren Knight Gallery

To see them here in small takes away from the incredible experience of walking into a gallery space to be greeted intimately by these bold... greatly larger than life birds. There is so much joy, cheek, beauty, diversity and than that personification we make when one on one with our wildlife. Naturally for me, a most joyful show. 
More beauties here and you can buy the illustrated catalogue from the gallery during the exhibition.

Joanna Braithwaite  Exotic  122x122cm  courtesy of Darren Knight Gallery