This sculpture represents the artists love for the natural beauty of Australia’s southwest, and the delicate environmental balance existing withing the region.

This piece shows 3 black cockatoos flying “over” and mounted onto steel rods representing trees, in the way we would see them flying naturally. Even from a distance, the acrobatic “style of flight” is quite distinctive for Black Cockatoos.

Alan's challenge when constructing this sculpture was to create the typical black cockatoo appearance - without over-working the piece. The Jarrah bodies are made from old decking off-cuts from the historic Cape Naturalist Lighthouse precinct. The wings and head cut from the bonnet of an old car and were found on the property of a gentleman in the Tuart Forest, east of Busselton. Jim is a retired mechanic and kindly allows Alan to forage through his extensive car graveyard. The currency for this scrap is an Australian tradition - Alan likes the fact that no actual money changes hands whilst still being a fair trade.

The base is an old floorboard removed and replaced form within Mammoth Cave, and was salvaged during Alan's time as a conservation worker. Alan has intentionally left the white paint strips on the board. These would have denoted the edge of the walkway, guiding the way, in the low light of the cave.

The entire piece is comprised of recycled components - every component has a story!

Tips for transport & installation:

For ease of transport this installation can be broken down into 10 parts, wings (un-screwed from bodies), bodies, stems and the base. The piece can therefore be packaged and moved more conveniently.

Care for sculpture

The steel and timber components are treated with a simple coating of linseed oil and turpentine in 50/50 mixture - lightly brushed on. One can put the sculpture outside on a hot day – this allows the oil to penetrate and leave a thin, even film of oil. This coating can be applied as regularly as every 6 months –