Oul and acrylic on wooden panel, 25x38x3cm.
Featuring the endangered Marvellous Spatuletail Hummingbird, this piece is inspired by the famous artwork ‘Comedian’, by conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan of a banana taped to the wall. My version of this work replaces the disposable object with a living emblem of beauty and fragility. The hummingbird — a symbol of vitality, beauty, and relentless motion — is shown suspended and immobilised, its iridescence intact but its agency removed. The FRAGILE tape acts as both warning and restraint, reflecting how care is often expressed through control rather than freedom. Vertical upward drips suggest time, gravity, and quiet loss — beauty slipping away once removed from its natural context.
The arched canvas references devotional panels and sacred objects, elevating the subject while simultaneously fixing it in place. This piece questions whether humanity’s interference with nature is truly worth the gains it promises, when the potential losses may be irreversible.