Kōtuku (White Heron)

Sean Crawford

Sculptor Sean Crawford is Wairarapa based. He works with a range of materials including laser-cut steel and taxidermy.

Crawford began as a plumber’s apprentice. Later, after travelling and living overseas, he studied for a degree in design. Crawford exhibits widely in New Zealand.

One of the highlights of his career has been creating the work ‘The Cloak of Remembrance’ made of laser cut steel and powder coated with red poppies for the New Zealand embassy, in Washington DC.

Kotuku (White Heron)

The native Kotuku (White Heron), recognisable by its snowy-white plumage and graceful presence, is a a symbol of beauty and grace. In Māori oratory, the most telling compliment is to liken someone to the Kōtuku, as they symbolise everything that is rare and beautiful.

As explored in many of my previous works, this sculpture furthers my interest in/critique of the many New Zealand Acclimatisation Societies set up following colonisation. In a nostalgic effort to both utilise and be able to see familiar flora and fauna from their homeland, many species (of plant and animal) were introduced here from England and Europe. In many cases (for example, rabbits and possums) this caused devastating long term consequences to our native species and environment. This attempt - to ‘recreate’ where the settlers had come from - required taking the natural world and bending it to their will. Attempts to improve on nature became akin to claiming dominion over it.

This piece fetishises a traditional post-colonial object (the Gin Trap) to encourage dialogue, whilst the native White Heron and Pauwhananga (Clematis Flower) represent the indigenous flora and fauna of Aotearoa. Standing elegantly, the scarce - at one stage their population was reduced to four breeding pairs - Kotuku, is fabricated from the Clematis Flower (Pauwhananga). With its white petal mirroring the pure white plumage of the bird, to many, this lacework-like flower is the spiritual representation of a star on earth. Using them to form a majestic creature as rare as the Heron, gives its presence a mythological status.

Countering the natural order of nature is the Gin Trap. This makes reference to the influence of colonial interaction with the natural world. The Gin Trap is part of the narrative of the fur trade - in New Zealand to utilise the introduced possum as a resource to be harvested. The Kotuku holds the Gin Trap in its beak - as if pulled from the marshlands that the bird wades through.

The opposing symbols in this piece - one of purity and a bird saved from the brink of extinction, juxtaposed with a device wrought with the painful mantle of old-world thinking - offer reflection on lessons learnt, as well as lessons lost.

Image Dimensions: 400mm W x 500mm D x 1000mm H

Freight Note: Due to the size and nature of this work freight will be calculated post purchase