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'The Magpies Said' is an exhibition of monoprints and paintings by Gail de Jong currently showing at Hullabaloo Art Space in the Cromwell Heritage Precinct.
 

"Denis Glover's poem,  'The Magpies' was the first poem I learned as a child. Then and now, I thought it was both sad and cheeky at the same time, and I loved the haunting chorus - 'Quardle oodle ardle woodle doodle, the magpies said'. There are some Magpies in the shelter belt on our property, and they do sing that chorus in the evening, and they are cheeky, resilient, swift and clever. Walking there one day I found the remains of one of them on the ground and took it back to my studio, later using it to make a number of monoprints. Magpies are outsiders, considered to be pests, not native to New Zealand and apparently very dangerous in the nesting season, but their ability to survive against the odds is impressive. They are very intelligent and even make great pets. So this exhibition is a salute to Magpies – survivors in a hazardous world and still singing despite all of it."

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