byrd | Memory Persists, an exhibition of recent work by mural artist Dan Maginnity [byrd] that speaks to our cultural memory, our political consciousness and our habits within our built environments through painterly prisms and rainbows, illuminating the conundrums of our global present.
In byrd’s work, often provocations that encourage viewers to consider the impact of human activity through the lens of the natural environment. They reflect his personal experiences and observations, but he bends and splinters them in ways that create refractions that magnify current vernaculars of politics, pop culture, and histories of place.

Dan Maginnity [byrd], Provincial imitators, 2022, house paint and enamel spray paint stencilled on timber (resurfaced canvas), 50 × 60cm
The materiality of his visually striking murals, paintings and large sculptures pursue a “reclaim and re-use” agenda. byrd comments:
“Reclaim and re-use requires an awareness of what surrounds you, what your needs are: and how to use the resources available to you without permanently depleting them.”
He adds, “I am deeply uncomfortable with the speculative and museum production of ‘new work’ eating up fresh materials. Murals are one way of providing fresh work using existing grounds, and I try to do similar things with my studio practice.”
Nancy Sever Gallery
5 to 26 February 2023
Australian Capital Territory