Artwork Information

Gannets swarm above the pillar of rock that is Motutara Island, while two strings of rosary beads hang above a shifting horizon. Colin McCahon painted in series, building bodies of work around the big themes of life and death, time and loss, history

and place. The Care Of Small Birds: Muriwai, exhibited in Necessary Protection (1977), explores the young gannet’s leap of faith and first flight from the top of the Muriwai cliffs.