Queer Hawks, Oul Birds

"Birds have existed in some form for 150 million years. They are now considered to have evolved from dinosaurs, which is some pedigree! They have exploited every environment on earth from the desert to the Antarctic, and are the top predators, with the exception of humans, in many ecosystems. They travel faster (the Peregrine falcon) and farther (the Arctic tern) than any other animal.
Like humans, they are warm-blooded, bipedal, highly visual and vocal. Perhaps because of these attributes, they have entered our consciousness in the form of symbols. Symbols vary from the morphing "Morrigan" of Celtic mythology, to the symbols for the Saints in the Book of Kells, from the "wise old owl" to the maternal hen, from the altruistic pelican to the soaring strength of the eagle, from the death-knell raven to the born-again phoenix, from the solitary Bonnán Buí (the bittern) to the uplifting lark.
But perhaps it is as a symbol for the unfettered "flight of the imagination", that birds remind us of the enormous potential for freedom and joy we each hold within our minds.
This exhibition is dedicated to my mother Ann, and my late father Frank, who allowed their home to become an avian menagerie for an inquiring mind."