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.
This project matters because it brings urgent attention to biodiversity loss and extinction through the lens of Indigenous knowledge and fine art photography. By presenting these birds at human scale, Pardington challenges viewers to reconsider their relationship with animals and the natural world. The Venice Biennale platform amplifies this message globally, while the artist's focus on small regional museums highlights the importance of local collections in telling broader ecological and cultural stories.