Artistic clarity in an era of short-sighted planning: Review of Birds, Bees and Botanicals Exhibition, Mornington Peninsula

Mornington Peninsula has some incredible artists. Due to the sheer quality and character of the brushstrokes, no photo can really do justice to Christine Gervais-James' exquisite recreation in watercolour and eco dyes of the activities of tiny insectivorous birds in a world to their scale.  Her striated thornbills stalk their prey in a Lilliputian garden of Billy buttons - yellow flowers of the daisy family that look like single wattle flowers on stalks. If you look closely you can see a group of tiny mushrooms right of the middle panel, where a little leach arches its back, closely observed by an eagle-eyed thornbill, who looks as if he is just about to pounce. Looking at this micro-vista, I can almost hear the thornbills' going tzzzt,t zzzt, tzzzt, a familiar static background in local bushland.  This is a world at the tips of our toes in Frankston, the Mornington Peninsular, and much of Australia, yet this is the world that will be crushed here by the Victorian government's willful war on nature in the form of engineered human overpopulation and overdevelopment, currently bearing down on Frankston with bulldozers instead of tanks.

Tiny masterpieces vs grand engineering projects 

This delicate artwork captures the beauty and fragility of nature, inviting us to appreciate the intricate details of the world around us. In stark contrast, a massive megacity looms on the horizon, threatening to engulf our  town and obliterate the very habitat that sustains these birds.  It is not just Frankston, but all over Australia, as the Property Council of Australia pushes through its decades-long project via complicit governments at all levels.

In stark contrast to Gervais-James' ability to see and examine reality in its minute detail, the engineers and financiers pushing for this megacity seem myopic, unable to recognize the value of the natural world they are set to needlessly destroy for greed. Their focus on large-scale development blinds them to the biophysical intricacy that supports life-systems, literally below the towers they seek to erect. From these concrete perches, others may gaze blindly out to sea. This juxtaposition highlights not only the loss of habitat to nature, but to humans. Money now controls us all, and reckless gamblers are in charge in an inherently dangerous growth economy. 

I particularly liked Janette MacGregor's Bronzewing Pidgeon of her three birds.  I thought that she highlighted the breast colours very effectively and was impressed by her choice of fabric background, which was used seamlessly.  "Pink Haze," by Karen Muscat needs to be seen in reality. The colours are sensational, much better than in my photography, and brilliantly convey for me the dazzling activity of a field of wildflowers. The exhibition theme is actually in honour of Rosie Barber, known for her giant flower-paintings, which you can also see at Oakhill Gallery, of which she is a life-member.

Exhibition: Birds, Bees, and Botanicals. Oak Hill Gallery, 100 Mornington-Tyabb Road, Mornington, Until the end of September 2024. The advertised price for "Birds and Billy buttons is $395.00.  "Pink Haze," by Karen Muscat $$330.  Janette MacGregor's "Three Natives," are each $130. 

Rosie Barber's birds (Fairy Wren,  Chestnut Teal Duck, The Pelican) are each $150.