no questions asked
Ben Reid
Reid’s no questions asked show Huia specimens wrapped in newspaper
and discovered in a central London antiques market in the early hours of
the morning — in the 1960’s it was a place operating without oversight,
where before dawn, anything can be sold with its source or provenance
not obliged to be revealed or conversely, questioned.
The work draws on an account involving the celebrated New Zealand
painter Raymond Ching, who is said to have encountered Huia
specimens, long after the species was officially recorded as extinct.
Whether factual or apocryphal, the story reflects the uncertainty and
mythology surrounding vanished species. The specimens are described
as retaining an unusual lustre, inconsistent with the accepted date of the
birds extinction, further unsettling the historical record.
There are ambiguities surrounding the Huia’s disappearance, which
include the activities of Wellington taxidermist, Clarence Poynter who is
associated with the capture, mounting and sale of specimens post
extinction. These histories sit at the edge of documentation, shaped by
rumour and incomplete record.
The birds are wrapped in pages of The Dominion, grounding the image
in a specific site of reportage and linking it to shifting relationships
between evidence, absence, and memory.
Title. /
no questions asked
MEDIUM. /
Drypoint and Relief
DIMENSIONS. /
h780mm x w1060mm
PRICE. /
$5000 unframed $5600 Framed
Enquiry availability