Carousel Book
My work needed something to carry the idea of a literal transformation of the Fernbird's original habitat, via the context of a book [the only form of Fernbird's record as the bird was regarded as extinct by 1900].
The book itself represents the fact that the bird will only ever be documented on paper. The book 'opens up' their world, back to 3D form whilst remaining on paper. The 'carousel' construction of the book allows us to see this. The book brings back to life this 'Ghost of a Gone Bird' and gives us an insight into what the Fernbird's habitat would have been like.
The book adopts the ideas which are executed in the paintings. The cover is a faint material, mimicking the curvaceous waves of the sea [the surroundings of the Pitt and Mangere Islands, belonging to the Chatham islands].
