{"product_id":"no-questions-asked","title":"No Questions Asked","description":"\u003cp\u003eDrypoint and Relief on paper\u003cbr\u003e882 x 1160mm framed\u003cbr\u003eEdition 4\/12\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlso available unframed - $5000\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eNo Questions Asked\u003c\/em\u003e shows Huia specimens wrapped in newspaper and discovered in a central London antiques market in the early hours of the morning — in the 1960’s it was a place operating without oversight, where before dawn, anything can be sold with its source or provenance not obliged to be revealed or conversely, questioned.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe work draws on an account involving the celebrated New Zealand painter Raymond Ching, who is said to have encountered Huia specimens, long after the species was officially recorded as extinct. Whether factual or apocryphal, the story reflects the uncertainty and mythology surrounding vanished species. The specimens are described as retaining an unusual lustre, inconsistent with the accepted date of the birds extinction, further unsettling the historical record.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere are ambiguities surrounding the Huia’s disappearance, which include the activities of Wellington taxidermist, Clarence Poynter who is associated with the capture, mounting and sale of specimens post extinction. These histories sit at the edge of documentation, shaped by rumour and incomplete record.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe birds are wrapped in pages of The Dominion, grounding the image in a specific site of reportage and linking it to shifting relationships between evidence, absence, and memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\" style=\"margin: 0cm 68.55pt 8.0pt 2.0cm;\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Reid Ben","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49014784786585,"sku":"26426","price":5600.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0630\/7656\/5145\/files\/NoQuestionsAsked.jpg?v=1789264574","url":"https:\/\/littlerivergallery.com\/products\/no-questions-asked","provider":"Little River Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}