The grid: a bird on the brink

Tara Joshi

Jon Ching’s fantastical paintings of Hawaiian honeycreepers celebrate the last of a dying breed

There is something bittersweet about these fantastical portraits of Hawaiian honeycreepers. Rendered in almost photographic detail in a new series of paintings by Kaneohe-born artist Jon Ching, the birds’ vibrant and glossy plumage is set against native plants and wallpaper-like backdrops.

Ching’s work is not just about the creatures’ beauty, however: Hawaii is the world’s bird extinction capital, in large part due to invasive species; these honeycreepers, which are found nowhere else on Earth, are severely endangered. As Ching explains: “It’s now or never for these birds. I feel a responsibility to use my voice to not only bring awareness of their precarious future but to celebrate the natural wonders they are.”