Extinction Intervention

This series of work was inspired by the amazing work done by the scientists at Arid Recovery, a predator proof research site on Kokatha land in South Australia. They have reintroduced six species that had gone extinct in the local area due, mostly, to the introduction of cats and foxes by colonisers. The six species that have been reintroduced are the Western Quoll, Burrowing Bettong, Greater Bilby, Kowari, Shark Bay Bandicoot and Greater Stick Nest Rat.

The scientific and volunteer team at Arid Recovery have erected fences that prevent predators from entering the sanctuary, offering the reintroduced species the best opportunity for population growth. They still have to contend with other natural influences, like droughts and competition for food within the boundaries. The team monitor numbers, births, habitats, and how the individuals are coping being either transported and relocated, or born on the property. Without this human intervention, these animals would never be seen in this landscape again.

Each Extinction Intervention bangle is made from anodised aluminium wire and sterling silver tube. Made after an artist residency to Arid Recovery, Katherine has created an artistic representation based on the graphs of six species’ natural boom and bust cycle, decline, eventual extinction, and population growth since reintroduction. She uses the graphs for each species found in Arid Recovery’s Annual Reports to carefully recreate the population numbers in the original paddock where they were first reintroduced. Working backwards, she adds a straight horizontal section for the time the animal was extinct, and a decline due to cats and foxes killing them out. The longest section is dedicated to the millennia where scientists do not have graphs for the population of these six species, but can deduce that they would have simply experienced natural “boom and bust” cycles following weather patterns and the corresponding food abundance or scarcity. The wire “graph” is then wrapped carefully to create a wearable bangle.

Rose Gold = Burrowing Bettong

Silver = Greater Bilby

Black = Greater Stick Nest Rat

Blue = Kowari

Cherry = Shark Bay Bandicoot

Gold = Western Quoll

To read more about this project and Arid Recovery, go to https://aridrecovery.org.au/news/2025/extinction,-reimagined-how-jewellery-tells-the-sto .

2025

Anodised Aluminium, Sterling Silver

6 x 10 x 10 cm