Bin Chickens - Once We Were Sacred 2 Ed. 19 of 50

This Extra Large Limited Edition (of 50) Giclée Print(s) has been printed onto thick textured cotton rag paper using archival inks by a specialist fine art reproduction printing house. This work is sold unframed. Framing is available upon request, please use the enquire button if you would like to purchase the print professionally framed. Note framing turn around times are approximately 2-3 weeks.

About the artwork:
This work lifts the status of these unpopular birds’ to one of majesty, usually reserved for cranes in oriental art.

Unwelcome and commonly referred to as ‘Bin Chickens’; 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.

Sometimes I look at our Ibis feeding in the Cook’s River or the wetlands at Sydney Park, and with the help of the Weeping Bottlebrush 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?

Purchase of this artwork does not include reproduction rights. Artwork cannot be copied or used without the artist’s prior permission.

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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.