"I chose to be Australian, and in doing so, I chose what being Australian meant to me."

Growing up with dual heritage, I was often confused about where home really was — never more so than in my teens. The need to belong — a fundamental human necessity — was an extremely strong motivation that drove me to choose an identity rather than float between continents. So, in the late 80’s I made a choice to call Australia home.

But how does one do that when you’ve grown up in the formality of French culture? Especially when Australia's modern-day national identity is rooted in irreverence, satire, and a laughable amount of 'sacred nonsense'.

This artwork comes from a series that pairs native birds — absurd, beautiful and raucous — with mundane objects of everyday Australiana. Through this, I explore how national pride can be constructed not from solemn emblems, but from pavlovas, Winnie-Blues, and cane toads.

And when combined with birds, which act as symbols of belonging — their flight carries a sense of return, of finding home again and again. Migration becomes less about exile and more about connection, memory, and renewal. They remind me that movement itself can be another way of coming home.

Each image is both homage and irony — sincerity wrapped in self-deprecation — just like the identity I've hopefully chosen for myself.