The Unexpected Birdwatcher - Sculpture by Bill Reid

 

The Unexpected Birdwatcher is a special pop-up exhibition of painted steel sculpture by Bill Reid.  Reid’s work is filled with whimsy and humor but also contains a serious underlying message about the fragility of nature in today’s world.  Recognized around the world as one of the leading fabulists in a fabulousy world, Bill (Bee) Reid has been making painted steel extravagonzo sculptures for over thirty years.

As a youngster, he took a wrong turn somewhere and his mind has been out wandering around in the bush ever since, playing around with creatures that inhabit their own little udopia and follow an uncommon logic. Characterized by extremely high spirits, they fall back to earth with a certain grace leaving behind a little epiphony or feybill to wonder at.

“My process of working is elemental; using only a few hand tools and the heat of the torch I build my creatures out of thin sheets of metal and steel rods. Even as a young boy, I was drawn to the siren call of fire. Like a detective, I turn on the heat until the steel talks. Like an astronomer, I study faint sparks of light in the distance and I try to bring them closer by telling their stories about life in the mowzone layer.”

Whether they have mechanical movement, can be played as instruments, or can even be driven on the street, Reid’s work requires us to erase our perception of what is, and ask ourselves, what could Bee?