The bird and Buddha

What small amount of traffic there was stopped as the bird landed in the road. Like it was an everyday occurrence the bird preened a couple of feathers, straightening individual strands with its beak. It lifted one long leg and balanced without swaying. The car drivers gawped. Just as impatience arose in the drivers the bird sauntered across the street, over the sidewalk and into the open door of the art gallery.

Gathering speed and with purpose the bird strode past the sales counter, around the internal gallery wall which sat in the middle of the room, to the back, where it stopped and faced a painting.

The bird bobbed its head. Shifted weight from foot to foot. It stood and looked at the painting and the painting looked back.

It was a small town, two bars, one supermarket, a few clothing shops (one was a charity store), hunting and fishing outfitters, a jeweller and an art gallery. The town lay not far from a well-travelled interstate and was a popular stop-off for sleepy or hungry travellers.

Birds were common in this area, there was still a good bit of natural habitat, so really it shouldn't have been a surprise if one occasionally stopped on the main street. But it is generally considered unusual if one stops, walks into a gallery and appears to be an art fan.

A crowd slowly gathered, collectively wondering what the attraction could be. Then the controversy started, “It’s a crane” insisted a burly man in camouflage trousers and a work soiled t-shirt. “No, it’s a stork” countered the elderly woman who had her shopping cart in-tow. “A white flamingo” came from the back, “A vulture…” pierced the hubbub. “Why is it looking at that picture and not the others?”.

The exhibition was the creation of a local artist and it focussed on imagery of religious icons; the Madonna and Child, a Hindu pantheon, Polynesian tiki statues, Odin hanging from the world tree and the painting that attracted the bird, a laughing Buddha.