Guest Post by Fernando do Campo, curator of I live with birds
The first
birds I ever cared for were two juvenile pied butcher-birds. Not too young,
early days of fledgling stage – it was my first shot at being a wildlife carer.
The matriarch of ‘Rockhampton Wildlife Rescue’ dropped them off, with cage, pot
of raw (ironically kangaroo) mince and dried insect mix. Jimbo and Joshua, as
they were affectionately named by Hilario my brother, were a certain-to-survive
rescue mission. That woman is partly responsible for my animal addiction. I was
a nerd, a fanatic that could not be on the highway for 5 kms without yelling at
dad to pull-over so that I could check the pouch of a carcass. Art school got
in the way of what I was certain would be a career of wildlife veterinary. Until
very recently I was happy with this and refocused all my energy into the
colourful, sometimes gratifying art world. Raquel Ormella’s project for
Iteration:Again, I live with birds, makes me recall these stories. I don’t
think it’s the reconsideration of career paths or Raquel’s contagious
bird-fever, but rather the revising of priorities and commitments, of things I
love and enjoy.
