Invisible Bird

RESEARCH BACKGROUND Weaver's work can be situated within Melbourne post-pop art, an important trajectory in Australia since the early 1980s. Her art practice is informed by research of indigenous cultures and Australian fauna and draws on the aesthetics of modern art, design and fashion. Using skills as a model-maker and a number of craft techniques such as crochet and stitching, Weaver explores ideas of metamorphosis, evolution and representation. This work investigates how elements of fantasy, playfulness and humour can provoke multifaceted social and environmental responses and commentary from viewers. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION Weaver experiments with a combination of materials and patterns to create an embellished surface that covers an imaginative hybrid creature. Stuffed, mounted and covered in a technically complex crocheted skin, the creature conveys a new stage of evolutionary development, compelling the viewer to consider how humans endeavour to control and live in their environment. The work explores ideas of looking and concealment and questions the appearance of the real. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE Louise Weaver's work is a feature of the exhibition held at the NGV that also includes the work of John Baldessari, Mike Brown, Richard Tipping, Robert Rooney, and Peter Tully. This new context for viewing the work introduced new ways of seeing the world, reminding the viewer of the importance of play in artists' work and the viewers' own lives.