Bower Birds

The Bower 2025

Steel, she oak, palm, grass, and pebbles
250 x 250 x 250 cm

About the Work

Bowers, the ultimate ephemeral sculptures, are built as a labour of love by Great Bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis), locals to Townsville and other parts of North Queensland.

These talented and adaptable native birds build bowers for the purpose of courtship. While bowers are traditionally tucked under bushes on the forest floor, Great Bowerbirds are also adept at building their remarkable sculptures right outside some of the luckier homes in town.

Bowers often attract the eye of admiring humans with whom they share a fondness for exceptional design and shiny trinkets.

About the Artist

Laura and Jane (Bower Birds) have been refining their vision for a human-scale bower over several years. The ‘Traceless’ theme of this year’s Ephemera at The Strand presented an unmissable opportunity to put planning into action. Like Great Bowerbirds, the duo live in Townsville, love being in nature, admire fabulous design, value sustainability, and find it hard to resist shiny things.