Modern Life is Rubbish

This painting lifts the status of this unpopular bird to one of majesty, usually reserved for cranes in Oriental art.

Unwelcome and commonly referred to as ‘Bin Chickens’ and ‘Trash Turkeys’; the Sacred White Ibis is a native bird found in urban areas throughout Australia. They were rare in our cities 30 years ago, but the loss of their natural habitat has forced them into populated areas to scavenge on human rubbish.

The title of this work represents the Ibis’ perspective on modern life rather than our’s, and is from the Blur album of the same name.

Sometimes I look at our Ibis feeding in the Cook’s River or the wetlands at Sydney Park, and with the help of the Pine trees and water, they remind me of an oriental scene. The question is: Can we love them more if they are re-packaged and presented to us in a natural environment like the scene in this painting? And rather than ‘hating on our displaced wildlife’, shouldn’t we be more accountable for the destruction of the environment?

The pared back colour palette of blues, greys and antique blush pink combined with the Neon orange bird tag on the leg of the bird gives this piece a contemporary edge, and it’s purpose is to jolt the viewer out of the beauty of the decorative scene and remind us of the urban modern day context of the subject matter.

This work would make a fantastic statement on your wall and features many hours of intricate detail. Please see the extra photos for a close look at the detail of the painting. This painting has been professionally framed in a black deep box frame with an 8cm ivory border mount on all sides. The framed dimensions of the painting are: 77.5cm x 96.6cm x 5cm deep.

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Floriosa is the botanical painting practice of Australian artist Sally Browne.
I've been making art for as long as I can remember. What was meant to be a one-year trip from the UK to Sydney in 1994 somehow became a permanent move, and Australia has been home ever since.
Much of my work begins outdoors. I love wandering through suburban streets noticing flowering trees, plants spilling over fences, unexpected colour combinations and the small details that most of us walk straight past. I often come home with armfuls of flowers, seedpods and odd little cuttings that eventually find their way into my paintings.

Although my work begins with observation, it rarely stays there. A vase of flowers, a flowering gum or a bird perched in the garden might provide the starting point, but colour, memory and imagination soon take over. I'm less interested in painting a particular flower than in capturing the feeling of being surrounded by nature.

Before becoming a full-time artist in 2015, I worked in graphic design, surface pattern and printmaking, experiences that continue to influence my love of colour, rhythm and composition. I'm also inspired by the simplicity and spontaneity of Chinese and Japanese ink painting, though over the years my own work has evolved into a looser, more contemporary style.

Alongside Floriosa, I maintain a contemporary fine art practice under my own name, exhibiting regularly throughout Australia. Over the past decade I've been fortunate to place hundreds of original paintings into private collections both here and overseas. These days, if I'm not in the studio, there's a good chance I'm wandering around Sydney with secateurs in my bag, bringing home flowers, seedpods and whatever else catches my eye.