| Bing Dawe (put) a microscope to ... freshwater fish species, often overlooked due to their miniscule size and concealed habitat. By exploring the lives of these indigenous species he highlights some forgotten inhabitants of the Canterbury Plains.
The Canterbury Mudfish, Kokopu, Common Bully and Stargazer all occupy waterways throughout Canterbury, making their homes in wetlands, streams, river margins and even drains. None are consumed as human food (aside from the Kokopu in its infant form as whitebait), but all contribute to the natural cycle of life on the Plains as feed for birds and larger fishes. Yet all are threatened by man’s need for food through habitat degradation caused by changes in land use and the encroachment of agriculture.
Dawe’s carved Rimu representations of freshwater fishes elevate these species to a grander scale. ...The Common Bully – so named for its less secretive habit – is more highly evolved with elaborate fins. ...
Although the Canterbury Mudfish has demonstrated adaptability to survive without water, these species share with all life forms a dependence on water. The quest for water is common to all inhabitants on the Plains and water sources are threatened by pollution and mismanagement. For Dawe the divining rod articulates this contest for water – its forked form both unifying and dividing. To him, it is a form that just “makes sense” and is a recurrent motif in this body of work. Dawe further draws on the associations of divining with spirituality and faith in divine knowledge –... But the divining rod appears here as more than embellishment or a symbol. It also serves as a construction element literally binding together components that make the fish and the structures that support them.
... By drawing attention to some of the lesser-known inhabitants of the Canterbury Plains, Dawe enhances awareness of the cycle of life supported by land and waterways. Through this he promotes “working with landscape in a more sensitive way; through knowledge.”
Christine Whybrew, Dowsing and Divining, exhibition catalogue, August 2010 |
