where the cormorant dries
where the heron is not indigo or
grey anymore
where the sky bites back
and the kite has teeth
and the blue jay hums songs of forgetfulness
the heron grows blue
ankling the lunge of the wear-willow river
'The Heron is not blue' is an immersive body of work, serving as an ode to birds from the perspective of the artist. The photographs are slow and ambiguous; intending to not require any further elucidation.
Through texture, tone and shape, Mae explores the formalism of wading water birds, starlings and corvids with a visual emphasis of hedonistic ideals.
Intuitively responding to the natural world, Mae utilises a camera similarly to a running stitch, exploring how lens based outcomes can exceed documentation. She creates poetic and emotive pictures enveloped in a white, silvery veil that interact with each other to form intimate relationships between herself and her subject. Through a gentle approach to digital photography, Mae draws connections between the materiality of a photograph and other visual media; utilising sculpture, print and text, she sketches the outline of what
"bird" can mean creating a lyrical experience transcending the need for explanation, and alternatively inviting contemplation.