Rooks take centre stage in new Oriel y Parc exhibition

A new exhibition celebrating one of nature's most charismatic and intelligent birds opened last Friday at Oriel y Parc, National Park Discovery Centre in St Davids.

Celebrating the Mischief of Rooks brings together paintings by artist and illustrator Jackie Morris and ceramic works by maker Elly Morgan in the Tower’s gallery, which is nestled among two active rookeries whose inhabitants inspired the work.

Inside, Jackie’s watercolour, ink and gold leaf paintings are shown alongside Elly’s ceramic rooks, echoing the sights and sounds of the rookery outside. Visitors are invited to look more closely at the birds that gather in the surrounding trees, from their restless movement overhead to the chatter and clatter that carries across the grounds.

Rachel Perkins, Manager of Oriel y Parc, said: “Anyone who has visited Oriel y Parc in spring will know that the rooks are impossible to ignore. Their calls, movement and nesting activity are part of the atmosphere here, so it feels very fitting to see them celebrated inside the Tower.

“Jackie and Elly’s work draws attention to birds that are often overlooked, but they are remarkable creatures: intelligent, social and full of character. We’re delighted to host an exhibition so closely connected to the life of Oriel y Parc.”

Jackie Morris is best known for her work on The Lost Words, The Lost Spells and The Unwinding. The exhibition includes a painting from The Book of Birds, her forthcoming collaboration with Robert Macfarlane, which is published on 7 May and will also be marked by an exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Elly Morgan creates clay work inspired by the natural world within Pembrokeshire’s coastal and inland habitats. Here, her ceramic rooks respond to the birds outside the Tower and to Jackie’s paintings, bringing together two distinctive artistic approaches to the same subject.

The exhibition follows last year’s Tower installation Tangnefedd Rhyngom: Peace Between Us, also created by Jackie Morris and Elly Morgan for Oriel y Parc. Originally created for the same Tower space, it brought together Jackie’s painted doves and Elly’s ceramic doves in a quiet exploration of peace. That display can now be seen at Druidstone Hotel.

Celebrating the Mischief of Rooks is free to visit at Oriel y Parc until Sunday 21 June.