A quiet act of devotion lies at the heart of FRED. This piece is composed of the moulted feathers of a cherished yellow budgerigar, carefully gathered by its owner over the course of six years and sent to MccGwire. For over a decade, the feathers were kept in the artist’s studio, waiting for the perfect moment to be transformed.

The miraculous nature of the feathers’ luminosity is astounding - their vivid, almost artificial yellow, seemingly untouched by time, retains a brilliance that speaks to both vitality and remembrance. Yellow, often associated with joy and optimism, takes on a layered significance in this work. The delicate plumage speaks to themes of love, memory, absence, and transformation, capturing the ephemeral nature of life and the ways in which we preserve what is fleeting.

Presented as part of Sunny Side Up, an exhibition exploring the symbolism of yellow, FRED invites reflection on the connections between material, emotion, and time. The piece stands as a meditation on care, devotion, and the quiet traces left behind by those who pass through our lives.

SUNNY SIDE UP

List of Works