FAIRY-MAN IN LOVE WITH BIRD-WOMAN ~ inspiration comes in many forms

Bird Woman (detail)

A Love Made Out Of Thin Air

Even though they occupied different dimensions of air space, occasionally they ventured into each other’s domain so they knew of each other.

Theirs was an unexpected pairing as it was not customary for fairies and birds to take to each other romantically. Many flying beings could communicate through the vibrations of their wings but fairies had a higher, finer sounding hum that most birds could not decipher. But the forces of nature conspired to make her different.

Her name was KARINA and his OASIS. Their love was spiritual and left rainbows in its wake. Mother Nature approved and the animals felt at peace around them. Other birds and fairies were curious at first but after a while their winged families began to understand.

When time came for Karina to fly south, Oasis wished to accompany her. It was an extraordinary undertaking because they flew in fairy styles and bird styles. Luckily Oasis was good with his hands and a clever inventor. Karina collected the necessary materials and they went to work.

He created for them a ‘wing speed synchronizer’ which calibrated the etheric and physical dimensions perfectly. This contraption monitored their individual wing speeds and heart beats to ensure harmony between them. It was a revolutionary invention that was bound to help the spirit of creatures from both realms connect more often.

She inspired this in him. Their love heralded a new wave of love affairs amongst the winged community.

Fairy-man Sculpture

CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA, it was 2015 and I was standing on the rooftop terrace of my hotel. It was lined with large stone eagle statues that looked out to the surrounding landscape of urban sprawl, a port and mountains in the distance. I remember being inspired by their silent, majestic and dignified presence in the face of less elegant surroundings. They felt otherworldly, as if somewhere on another plane they were alive and vital.

INSPIRED by the statues and the place we both found ourselves in, I began to roughly sketch and write brief notes scrawled on a small travelling notebook; one of many I carried with me during my year in South America. While I was travelling I had made a habit of noting down ideas. My humble notes in this moment, captured a story about two lovers, a Romeo and Juliet,, minus the tragedy. SKETCHING & WRITING served to enrich my travels with another layer of meaning. You see, when I set out to go to South America I wasn’t interested in site seeing and had no goals or schedule. I had strictly carry-on luggage, and a mantra of ‘art-music-dance’ without overthinking what that meant exactly. When I was back in Melbourne and eventually established a new studio, I returned to my notebook and sketches to create my Bird Woman and Fairy Man sculptures.

Wing Speed Synchronizer

THE UNEXPECTED: It’s funny how sometimes the most subtle and seemingly unimportant objects or experiences can be the ones that spark an idea. I’m reminded of a parallel statement made by Yalom a famous psychotherapist. He said that once an old client of his had stopped him in the street to thank him for helping them. He then found out that it was a simple gesture of kindness unrelated to the deep insights and techniques he had used as a therapist that left an impression on this person. Maybe a bit unrelated but nonetheless, it comes to mind.

Perhaps inspiration can come from catching a tiny thread that moves you regardless of the context. You then have the opportunity if you wish to transform it into something new and give it your own beauty. That is what I think I did with the Eagles on the terrace.