One porcelain pinch-pot. One bird painting. Every day, for a year.
In 2024, I embarked on a daily practice—part deep dive into artistic process, part meditation, part activism—that led to a flock of 365 Australian birds.
I chose a simple yet profound form: the humble pinch-pot, an ancient ceramic practice that intimately connects the maker with the medium. Shaped between the fingers, the form emerges through the pressure of touch, with fingerprints remaining in the clay as a trace of the maker.
Porcelain became my canvas, its fragility and translucency mirroring the precarious future of so many of the birds I depicted. These tiny, unglazed pots, bearing fingerprints, scarring, and rough edges, reflect the growing impact of human activity on bird habitats. Land clearing and unchecked development have driven many species to the brink of extinction. Each pot and portrait is my way of confronting this unfolding loss—of species that exist nowhere else on Earth. Through this act of making, I wrestle with my own place in this crisis and hope to spark conversations about how we can change course.
This daily ritual was an exercise in deep learning, meditative reflection, and an evolving way of seeing. I chose to paint bird portraits because I wanted to meet my subjects eye to eye, to commune with them directly. Over the year, my practice evolved—you can see it in the portraits, in the growing detail, and in the depth of understanding reflected in the works. After 365 birds, I know I am only just beginning to truly see my muses.
OPENING NIGHT EVENT
We hope you can join us from 6 pm on Thursday, 27 March, at Side Gallery to celebrate the opening of Feathers and Fingerprints by Ingrid Burkett. We will commence the evening with an artist in-conversation with curator Laura Brinin at 6 pm.
