Exquisite Corpse
Exquisite Corpse meditates on death, preservation, surrealism, information and distortion. The exhibition is an account of the fifty vulnerable, endangered, and extinct birds of Queensland; and explores what is left behind in an age of the increasing vulnerability of factual information. Using the title to both describe the beauty of the specimens used to create the drawings and the game played by the Surrealists, Sharon creates her own exquisite corpses of vulnerable and endangered species of Queensland. Her work draws attention to the plight of all animals using the bird as a sort of “Canary in the coal mine” representative for all animals at risk. This exhibition is a continuation of a series of works begun by the artist in 2013, depicting the endangered birds and mammals of Ipswich and its surrounds.
This exhibition also contains another work titled "Partials" the 39 drawings on paper are of parts of the birds featured in the exhibition. The work is reflective of the fast disappearing animals which seem to be vanishing from the page and also the nature of a collection as only a remnant of the subject and not the complete whole.
The work titled "Inherited Vulnerable and Endangered Birds of Qld 2025" is as the title suggests is a collection of birds under glass within a certain group, but the corpse view of them as study skins rather than the animated, lively version often seen in taxidermy. This representation disrupts the expectation of "life like" birds to become a memento mori. The crowded appearance creates an impression of the animals almost suffocating and struggling to fit inside the large dome which reflects the desperate situation evolving and our own emotions during this time of world wide climate change. This work is part of a series titled "Under Glass" which also includes the work "This is not a Dodo". The Dodo is an exquisite corpse made of several parts of birds known to be vulnerable or endangered in Queensland. The Dodo is the most well known extinct bird from human habitation (although not of Australia but Mauritius), when the bird is displayed in natural history museums it is made up of other birds like it as the animal is only known from illustration, beak and bones collected of the animal. In this case Sharon has used the vulnerable and endangered birds of Qld to show the relationship between human activity and loss of species.
Sharon McKenzie's work is about the relationship between humans and the natural world, with a particular focus on vulnerable species of birds as a way of expressing "Solastalgia" (Albrecht,2005) word used to describe the sense of grief experienced by humanity due to the climate crisis.
Exquisite Corpse was exhibited at the Ipswich Community Gallery from 4th to the 15th June 2025. This project was funded through a Regional Arts Development grant which allowed time and space to work in a professional setting through Ipswich City Council and Arts Queensland.
Exhibition photography by Louis Lim.
This exhibition also contains another work titled "Partials" the 39 drawings on paper are of parts of the birds featured in the exhibition. The work is reflective of the fast disappearing animals which seem to be vanishing from the page and also the nature of a collection as only a remnant of the subject and not the complete whole.
The work titled "Inherited Vulnerable and Endangered Birds of Qld 2025" is as the title suggests is a collection of birds under glass within a certain group, but the corpse view of them as study skins rather than the animated, lively version often seen in taxidermy. This representation disrupts the expectation of "life like" birds to become a memento mori. The crowded appearance creates an impression of the animals almost suffocating and struggling to fit inside the large dome which reflects the desperate situation evolving and our own emotions during this time of world wide climate change. This work is part of a series titled "Under Glass" which also includes the work "This is not a Dodo". The Dodo is an exquisite corpse made of several parts of birds known to be vulnerable or endangered in Queensland. The Dodo is the most well known extinct bird from human habitation (although not of Australia but Mauritius), when the bird is displayed in natural history museums it is made up of other birds like it as the animal is only known from illustration, beak and bones collected of the animal. In this case Sharon has used the vulnerable and endangered birds of Qld to show the relationship between human activity and loss of species.
Sharon McKenzie's work is about the relationship between humans and the natural world, with a particular focus on vulnerable species of birds as a way of expressing "Solastalgia" (Albrecht,2005) word used to describe the sense of grief experienced by humanity due to the climate crisis.
Exquisite Corpse was exhibited at the Ipswich Community Gallery from 4th to the 15th June 2025. This project was funded through a Regional Arts Development grant which allowed time and space to work in a professional setting through Ipswich City Council and Arts Queensland.
Exhibition photography by Louis Lim.