Madeleine Kelly has recreated birds using Tetra Pak drink containers
Madeleine Kelly / Photograph: C Callistemon © QAGOMA / View full image
Madeleine Kelly’s Spectra of birds 2014–15 is made from repurposed Tetra Pak containers, which Kelly has crushed, manipulated and painted to look like abstracted representations of birds.
She has used encaustic, a form of painting using beeswax and pigment, to decorate the containers, which involves mixing pigment powder into molten beeswax and applying it to a surface. Each dollop of beeswax solidifies on contact, transforming from hot wax to cold surface.
Eastern Rosella
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Eastern Rosella (from 'Spectra of birds' series) 2014-15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
Galah
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Galah (from 'Spectra of birds' series) 2014-15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
Tawny Frogmouth
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Tawny Frogmouth (from 'Spectra of birds' series) 2014-15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
Watch | Madeleine Kelly discusses the inspiration for Spectra of birds
Queensland artist Madeleine Kelly was born in Germany to an Australian-born father, a plant biochemist, and a Peruvian-born mother, a Spanish–English interpreter. After the family moved to Australia in 1980, she grew up in Brisbane and studied fine art at the Queensland College of Art, completing her PhD in 2013. She now works from her studio in Wollongong, New South Wales, and lectures in painting at the University of Sydney.
With Spectra of birds, Kelly chose colours to resemble the plumage of the various birds she spotted while walking in Wollongong, New South Wales. The work is playful and surprising, while simultaneously considering the impact of human activity on the natural world.
Spectra of birds 2014–15
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Spectra of birds 2014–15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Spectra of birds 2014-15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
Madeleine Kelly, Germany/Australia b.1977 / Spectra of birds 2014-15 / Encaustic on cardboard with paper and text / 40 parts ranging from 8 x 11 x 11cm to 27 x 9 x 9cm / Purchased 2015 with funds from the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Diversity Foundation through the QAGOMA Foundation / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © Madeleine Kelly/Copyright Agency / View full image
View Madeleine Kelly’s Spectra of birds 2014–15 in 'Wonderstruck' at the Gallery of Modern Art or delve into the captivating works on display with our weekly highlights.
Wonderstruck
28 June – 6 October 2025
Gallery of Modern Art
Gallery 1.1 (The Fairfax Gallery), Gallery 1.2 & Gallery 1.3 (Eric and Marion Taylor Gallery)
Brisbane, Australia
Free entry