Fiona Pardington’s portraits of the lost birds of Aotearoa New Zealand – in pictures

Fiona Pardington has created a new series of human-scale photographic portraits of native New Zealand birds, many of which are extinct or endangered, using taxidermy specimens from regional museums. The series, titled "Taharaki Skyside," will be exhibited at the Aotearoa New Zealand pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Pardington, who has Māori and Scottish ancestry, incorporates the birds' eyes with superimposed historical landscapes to evoke their lost habitats and spiritual significance as intermediaries between human and divine worlds in Māori culture.

intuit art museum in chicago gifted trove of artworks hidden camera found in womens restroom at centre pompidous offices morning links for february 12 2026 1234773209

The Intuit Art Museum in Chicago has received a major gift of 61 artworks through two donations, one from the estate of founding supporter Jan Petry and another from scholar and collector Gordon W. Bailey. The works, by artists like Emery Blagdon and Mose Tolliver, will help the museum expand its presentation of works by women artists of color.

Spectral Birds Endemic to New Zealand Find New Life in Fiona Pardington’s Portraits

Spectral Birds Endemic to New Zealand Find New Life in Fiona Pardington’s Portraits

New Zealand artist Fiona Pardington will present her photographic series *Taharaki Skyside* in the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The large-scale, spectral portraits depict preserved specimens of endemic birds, including extinct and critically endangered species like the huia and the South Island Takahe, captured from within the country's natural history collections.

Māori art returns to New York’s Met museum in reimagined exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has reopened its Oceania galleries after an extensive renovation and reimagining from an Indigenous perspective. The new Arts of Oceania installation features over 650 works representing 140 cultures from across the region, including Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Curated by Maia Nuku, the exhibition took eight years to plan and showcases artworks created in the last 500 years, emphasizing the ocean as a connective highway rather than a barrier. The reopening continues the legacy of the landmark 1984 exhibition Te Māori: Māori Art from New Zealand Collections, which set a benchmark for shared decision-making between museums and Indigenous communities.