Bird Fish Lanterns

Inspired by the illustrated book Fish and Bird (1981) by Czechoslovakian artist Jiri Tibor Novak, found in 1987 in a second-hand bookshop along Unley Road, Tarndanya-Adelaide.

Mark and I performed a shadow puppet show titled Bird-Fish in the kitchen doorway at our wedding celebrations. Aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbours, friends sat under a plastic tarpaulin made from sheets of ‘french seamed’ plastic sewn together on my mothers domestic sewing machine. It never completely recovered.

Needless to say, the Irish skies opened up on the day. Our homemade tent kept us dry and entertained as water swirled above our heads, threatening at any moment to spring a leak. The exceptional cook in my family, my sister Sue, lovingly prepared a delicious vegetarian feast. And the departing words of a favourite uncle—after he bit into, and  survived, a hot red chilli –  “I learn something new every day.” And so we do….

Artists: Wendy Cowan and Mark Goonan