My personal experience of moving to a new country and the loss of my husband several years ago has led to my spiritual search for a sense of ‘home’, contemplating and experimenting with the notion of ‘nest’ as an expressive idea. The nest concept crystallised when visiting my sister in the Daintree where I was inspired by the nest of the Yellow-bellied Sunbird who I watched gather strips of bark and fibre to create her tear-drop shaped nest that seemed to hang poetically in mid-air.

 

These elaborate and highly decorated nests are mostly constructed by the female, who works and weaves tirelessly to perfect her home. During my morning park walks, back in Melbourne, I fossick for leftover fragments from picnics, birthday parties and school events – such as balloons, tennis ball fibre, pipe cleaners, ribbons, and even sushi fish! It is deeply satisfying and personally significant to repurpose found objects, which on their own are ugly and unwanted litter, into beautiful and symbolic works of art. Each nest is individually created with colour infused love and joy.