Colin Richards’ solo exhibition Parrot Parrot opens at GALLERY AOP on 8 October 2009, and follows on his last exhibition held at the same gallery in 2003. In the current exhibition he continues many of his interests from that show and even from before, especially his fascination with pictorial illusionism, reproduction and repetition. Balding tortoises, stones, books, sheep, an ivory tower and a parrot are some of the subjects of these works, which include ink, scraperboard and foil drawings, paintings, prints and paper constructions. As the title of the show suggests, the image of the parrot in particular draws many interests together such as mimicry, mastery, simulation, fakery, captivity and the meshing of the human and the animal.

The prime interest in his latest body of work is the African Grey parrot; its shadow, its shape, its silhouette. Parrots of every stripe have a long history in art, and make special appearances in the literature of J M Coetzee and Samuel Beckett, both authors of particular importance to Colin Richards.

' Poor Robin! the parrot would squawk from its perch on his shoulder, Poor Robin Crusoe! Who shall save poor Robin? His wife could not abide the lamenting of the parrot, Poor Robin day in, day out. I shall wring its neck, said she, but she had not the courage to do so '. (J M Coetzee, He and His Man) 

' Lousse tried to make him say Pretty Polly! I think it was too late. He listened, his head on one side, pondered, then said, Fuck the son of a bitch. It was clear he was doing his best. Him too one day she would bury '. (Samuel Beckett, Molloy)  

 
Many of the works also dwell on the relation between pictorial literalness and ‘literariness’. As before, repetition in process and picture is central to Richards’ time consuming, labour intensive approach.

Colin Richards lives and works in Johannesburg. He is a Professor in the Wits School of Arts, Wits University, and publishes widely on contemporary South African art.

With thanks to the Ellerman House Collection and Hollard Contemporary Art Collection for the loan of Parrot (Prefigured) and Marginal Book respectively.