Bimblebox 153 Birds art exhibition takes aim at coal mining, highlights environmental issues
Submitted by Chickowee on 15 Mar 2019.
Artist Jill Sampson has collaborated with hundreds of people to create an exhibition featuring 153 bird species found within the Bimblebox Nature Refuge in central-west Queensland.
The exhibition, Bimblebox 153 Birds, is named for the number of species known in the refuge at the time, but extra birds found since have been included in the show, now making it 158.
Ms Sampson said she started Bimblebox 153 Birds after her family's farm, west of Kingaroy, was the site of mining exploration.
"I was living on my parents' farm with my own family from 2010 to 2015 and our farm itself had a mining exploration lease over it … many places in Queensland and Australia did and many still do," she said.
"The idea that you could lose the place that you've spent your life living on and building an agricultural business on … or even just looking at the future and passing that onto your children, that really frustrated me.
