Queensland artist Ted Barraclough has been wood carving Australian Birds for nearly two decades. Chapter House Lane and CLIMARTE present ‘Birdman’; an exhibition containing over 250 hand carved and painted Australian Native birds by Ted Barraclough.
Ted Barraclough’s practice found its beginnings in his childhood in rural Queensland during the pacific war years. He grew up on a farm and began to develop a lifelong relationship to birds and their conservation, and around the same time, he used an uncle’s Blacksmithing workshop to wood carve toys for the family.
Now 81, Barraclough has a staggeringly prolific practice that combines his skills as a citizen ornithologist and carver. His developed carving technique has allowed him to create beautiful representations of birds that are unique to his chosen art form. From a makeshift studio in his garage in coastal Queensland, he carves a huge array of Native Australian birds.
From 2 March – 29 April, an extensive collection of Barraclough’s work will be on exhibition in Melbourne for ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2017, a biannual festival presented by CLIMARTE, featuring a range of exhibitions and events harnessing the creative power of the arts to inform, engage and inspire action on climate change.
Over 250 of Barraclough’s Native Australian birds will be shown at Chapter House Lane’s newly reopened exhibition space in Melbourne’s CBD. For the exhibition Birdman wrens, honeyeaters, magpies and Victorian species – many of them now endangered – will take over the laneway windows, and offer the opportunity to critically reflect on the role of birdlife in the environment around us.
We welcome you to join us for the opening of Birdman on Thursday 2 March from 6-8pm. The exhibition will be opened by one of Australia’s leading commentators on birds and bird habitat, Sean Dooley, Editor, Australian Birdlife.
This exhibition is co-curated by Bronwyn Johnson and Louise Klerks. Click here to read the catalogue essay by Andy Butler.
About the artist:
Ted Barraclough has exhibited within Australia. His selected exhibitions include; A Rare Bird, Artspace Mackay, Queensland, 2013; All You Need is Love, Curated by Bronwyn Johnson, Chandon -Yarra Valley, Victoria, 2012; and Ted Barraclough Birds, Doggett Street Studio, Brisbane, 2010. Barraclough is currently represented by Doggett Street Studio.