Alighting Bird captures everything that is typical of the unique sculptural style of Toonoo Sharky. As he has said, “You can look at [birds and animals] or work from your imagination. I don’t observe them, it is all from my head.” The artist’s process of not working directly from actual bird subjects but rather harnessing images from his imagination, accounts for the always whimsically creative bird forms he carves from stone. The delicate balance of the piece, with one foot raised and the other holding the entire weight of the sculpture, is a key element of the artist’s style. The arrested movement and element almost of surprise, with the open mouth and starkly open inlaid eyes are also notable elements that distinguish Toonoo’s style. His incredible carving skill is indicated by the elegant, raised wings, each stretching high above the body, carved individually from the one piece of serpentinite, soft enough to achieve such detail and intercarving, seen especially in the grounded foot of the bird. Instantly recognizable as a work by Toonoo, this sculpture is a whirlwind of energy, captured in a singular, frozen minute.