Born in North Otago in 1952, now Christchurch-based, Bing Dawe is regarded as one of NZ?s foremost sculptors with contemplative works highlighting environmental, political and social issues, and in particular the vulnerability of our birdlife and aquatic life. He explores the often contradictory relationship between the personal and the global in these issues. He takes very individual stories of species and researches them thoroughly, highlighting the fragility of their environment and existence. For instance, he has told the stories of the often overlooked or maligned NZ eels and their struggle for survival with all the changes made to our rivers; he has also highlighted the dangers faced by birds which are often overlooked or not regarded as under threat, as with the series A Landscape with Too Many Holes. In the past decade he has devoted a lot of attention to river species, particularly the eels, of which we have one very powerful work on paper available.