The comparativist

  Bird Girl - Lauren Reis  As I wandered through the Sefton Open with my wife earlier this year, we enjoyed debating which artwork she’d vote for while I shared my favourites. Inevitably, we speculated about the winner—would it be a seascape, like last year’s triumph, or a fauna portrait, like 2023’s? It’s a fun thought experiment to gauge how connected we are to the zeitgeist. I expected something youth-themed might catch the collective eye, but I confess I didn’t predict Bird Girl by Lauren Reis would take the crown. Though beautifully crafted, I found it a tad too eerie to win our collective votes. Boy, was I wrong! Bird Girl showcases a mastery of techniques. One could count the individual hairs on the girl’s head, or each pistil of the dandelion’s clock that floats amongst them, all while admiring the smooth contrast between her cold, soft skin and the warm, textured fur coat that wraps her in a regal, otherworldly dignity. Yet, these eminent examples of craftsmanshi...