Parrot Fashion

Not all art shows are successful, some fall short of the intentions of the artist and others are just ill conceived. Ruth Ewan's exhibition has just finished its run at Studio Voltaire’s gallery space in Clapham, the show failed in its intentions but luckily was such an ambitious and smile inducing concept that it could never be deemed ill conceived.
‘Psittaciformes Trying To Change The World’ intended to train parrots, parakeets and cockatoos to chant slogans recorded during the Gleneagles G8 summit in July 2005.
I paid a visit a couple of days before the end of the show and despite my encouragement the ‘psittaciformes’ had realised that they couldn’t change the world and had reverted to their non speaking ways and were content to cluck, click and chirrup amongst themselves and eye me from their aviary with either mild curiosity or disdain. After some time they still had not made their protests known and I left disappointed. Still it was a lovely idea and one parrot made a great impression of the sound of a huge droplet of water in a bucket.

On the theme of parrots I was amazed to see a huge colony of parakeets on Hampstead Heath, they were squawking away to their hearts content and flying from tree to tree whilst being completely unnoticed by two legged heath dwellers below.
I have never noticed them before but from the sheer numbers they have been happily colonising this part of the heath for some time and look set to continue if their happy, healthy appearance is any indication.