Childhood

About the artwork

Produced as a form of illustrated manifesto, the etching is composed of the birds I grew up watching and plants that are also significant to me. Each of the birds illustrated symbolise a different quality. The birds%u2019 individual characteristics were considered when choosing what principle they embodied. The Bullfinch represents humility, the Wren represents courage, the Greenfinch is empathy, the Blue Tit is integrity, the Jay is intellect and the Song Thrush is expression. It can be said that children have a clearer sense of the world and connection to the natural world. It seems as we age we lose this, divorcing ourselves from the rest of the earth and wrongly believing that humans are separate to everything we share our lives with. The illustration represents the importance of reconnecting with the planet.