SAM curator of community Caroline Esbenshade said it was “quite eerie” to handle the pieces.
Photo by
Leon Schoots
“It’s like paper taxidermy.”
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In describing the new solo exhibition at Shepparton Art Museum by emerging artist Kat Parker, SAM curator of community Caroline Esbenshade is evocative yet not exaggerating.
Lament – A Memorial of Australian Extinction presents full-scale reconstructions of native species that are now lost for ever.
Among them are the paradise parrot, last seen soaring in 1927; the elusive lesser bilby, absent since the 1960s; and the northern pig-footed bandicoot, which vanished due to the dual threats of habitat loss and predation.
Each life-sized sculpture is assembled from layers of linocuts printed on repurposed paper, giving them a fragile, lifelike presence.
Lament – A Memorial of Australian Extinction brings extinct Australian species to life.
Photo by
Leon Schoots
Ms Esbenshade said it was “quite eerie” to handle the pieces.
“When I realise what I hold in my hands, what audiences will be seeing, it really hits home that this is perhaps the closest we’ll ever come to experiencing these animals,” she said.
“It transforms a fact you might read in a history or biology textbook into something tangible and sorrowful.”
Accompanying annotated prints detail each animal’s history, inviting visitors to consider not only what has been lost, but what lingering gaps remain in Australia’s ecosystems.
Ms Esbenshade praised the artist’s approach, noting that Parker pushed beyond general conversations about climate and environmental decline.
Shepparton-based emerging artist Kat Parker has a new solo exhibition at SAM. Photo: Shepparton Art Museum.
“A lot of artists respond to climate change and humanity’s impact on the environment, but few engage with the specifics as deeply as Kat Parker does,” she said.
“There’s an enormous amount of research and sensitivity that underpins her work.”
Lament – A memorial of Australian extinction is now on display in the Hugh D.T. Williamson Community Gallery and will remain open until mid-March 2026.
An artist talk with Kat Parker, exploring the exhibition, will take place at SAM on Saturday, December 6, at 1.30pm.
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