Debbie Symons’ work, Melbourne Museum C2790, presents an intimate portrait of an endangered Greater Glider that has been preserved through taxidermy. The painting is part of series of works titled All the wild things I’ve seen, and employs techniques reminiscent of colonial documentation.

Through this co-opting, Symons critiques the animal’s period of ‘discovery’ in the early 18th century. Her work prompts us to consider the consequences of Western civilisation’s domination and appropriation of natural habitats.