Extinct
Artistic Impressions of Our Lost Wildlife
By: Benjamin Gray
Showcases stunning artwork and stories of Australian animals that have been lost to extinction.
Australia is home to an incredible diversity of native animals. While Australian animals are among the most unique in the world, they are also among the most endangered, with hundreds currently on the brink of extinction. We must act quickly if we are to save these species, as once gone, they are gone forever. + Full description
Extinct is a collection of artworks from established and emerging Australian fine artists, each depicting an Australian animal that has already, for various reasons, tumbled over the edge into extinction. Extinct laments their loss, but also celebrates their former existence, diversity and significance. The stunning artworks are accompanied by stories of each animal, highlighting the importance of what we have lost, so that we appreciate what we have not lost yet.
Extinct features artworks from Sue Anderson, Brook Garru Andrew, Andrew Baines, Elizabeth Banfield, Sally Bourke, Jacob Boylan, Nadine Christensen, Simon Collins, Lottie Consalvo, Henry Curchod, Sarah Faulkner, Dianne Fogwell, David Frazer, Martin George, Bruce Goold, Eliza Gosse, Simone Griffin, Johanna Hildebrandt, Miles Howard-Wilks, Nick Howson, Brendan Huntley, Ben Jones, Alex Latham, Rosemary Lee, Amanda Marburg, Chris Mason, Terry Matassoni, Rick Matear, Eden Menta, Reg Mombassa, Tom O'Hern, Bernard Ollis, Emma Phillips, Nick Pont, Geoffrey Ricardo, Sally Robinson, Anthony Romagnano, Gwen Scott, Marina Strocchi, Jenny Watson and Allie Webb.
Winner, 2022 Victorian Community History Awards: History Interpretation Award
Certificate of Commendation, The Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2022 Whitley Awards: Illustrated Zoology
News
Read more on our blog:
Benjamin Gray talks about the powerful role art can play in conservation and we showcase some of the beautiful artwork from the book: Extinct: Artistic Impressions of Our Lost Wildlife
Reviews
"I am devastated that I will never see a Gastric Brooding Frog give birth through her mouth or a Big Eared Hopping Mouse disappear into the distance. I will never hear the call of a Christmas Island Pipistrelle pierce the night or the roar of a Thylacinus. With whimsical portraits and sober words, Dr Benjamin Gray reminds us of what we have already lost and implores us to keep fighting for all our unique creatures – be they small, brown or hopping."
Dr Jenny Gray, Chief Executive Officer, Zoos Victoria
"This wonderful art-science-coffee table book is a must for nature lovers, artists and scientists."
Carol Dance, Sydney Arts Guide, 17 October 2021
"Notwithstanding the eloquence and insightfulness of the words, it is the artworks that give this book its power, pathos and beauty; its ability to move us. Each of the 39 extinct species is portrayed in a manner that gives some sense of its essence."
John Woinarski, Historical Records of Australian Science 33(1) 2022
"The stunning artworks are accompanied by stories of each animal, highlighting the importance of what we have lost so that we appreciate the species we have not yet lost."
Australian Wildlife Volume 3, 2022
Details
Hardback | October 2021 | $ 59.99ISBN: 9781486313716 | 136 pages | 305 x 215 mm
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Illustrations
ePDF | October 2021
ISBN: 9781486313723
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
ePUB | October 2021
ISBN: 9781486313730
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
Features
- Features original art from over 40 contemporary and distinguished Australian artists.
- Highlights many species never before depicted or photographed, or for which only a handful of visual references exist.
- Provides descriptions and fascinating facts about these lost species, their behaviour and biology.
- Includes previously unheard stories of these extinct animals, drawn from Indigenous histories, colonial commerce and European settlement.
- Features a Foreword and artwork from Brook Garru Andrew.
- Features poetry by Mark Tredinnick.
Contents
ForewordAcknowledgements
Introduction
Big-Eared Hopping Mouse
Blue-Grey Mouse
Bramble Cay Melomys
Broad-Cheeked Hopping Mouse
Broad-Faced Potoroo
Capricorn Rabbit-Rat
Christmas Island Pipistrelle
Crescent Nailtail Wallaby
Darling Downs Hopping Mouse
Desert Bandicoot
Desert Bettong
Desert Rat-Kangaroo
Dusky Flying Fox
Eastern Hare-Wallaby
Eungella Gastric-Brooding Frog
Gould's Mouse
Kangaroo Island Emu
King Island Emu
Lake Mackay Hare-Wallaby
Lake Pedder Earthworm
Lesser Bilby
Lesser Stick-Nest Rat
Long-Tailed Hopping Mouse
Lord Howe Flax Snail
Lord Howe Gerygone
Mount Glorious Day Frog
Nullarbor Dwarf Bettong
Paradise Parrot
Pig-Footed Bandicoot
Robust White-Eye
Sharp Snouted Day Frog
Short-Tailed Hopping Mouse
Southern Gastric-Brooding Frog
Tasman Starling
Thylacine
Toolache Wallaby
Tornelasmias capricorni
White Gallinule
White-Footed Rabbit-Rat
A story of hope: The Mountain Pygmy-Possum and the Bogong Moth
Artist biographies
References
Index
View the full table of contents (PDF, 69 KB)
Authors
Benjamin Gray is an ecologist and historian whose work aims to explore the ethical and emotional significance of extinction, interactions between human and non-human animals in modern society, and the serious social, economic and environmental consequences of global biodiversity loss. He is a self-taught artist and keen follower of the Arts in Australia and internationally.
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