DEBORAH CARRUTHERS
  • Home
    • Artist Statement
    • Bio
  • Performances
    • Ecstacies of Influence - Le Gesù, Amphithéâtre -Montréal - December 2018
    • slippages - The UBC Symphony Orchestra - Chan Centre - Vancouver - October 2018 >
      • slippages - Press
      • slippages - Instructions for play and score
      • slippages in the Studio: About my process >
        • slippages Athabasca -Photographs
        • slippages Immense Immensities
        • slippages Notebook
        • slippages Athabasca Painting
      • slippages - Performance Videos
  • Exhibitions / Residencies
    • Recent Exhibitions ... Now You See Me... >
      • The Aura of the Already Said - Zygote Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio - 2019 >
        • The Aura of the Already Said: Exhibition - Press
      • Souvenir / Souvenir - Montréal, Québec 2017 >
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Press
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Essay ​Culte du Souvenir
        • Souvenir / Souvenir: About the Exhibition ...
        • About ​Safe Passage
        • About the Paintings ...
        • About the Photographs ...
        • About the Vitrines ...
        • Souvenir / Souvenir : Invitation card
      • Souvenir sacré - Opasatika - Hearst, Ontario 2016
    • Residencies ... Home Away from Home >
      • Ecstasies of Influence : matralab, Concordia University - Montréal 2018 >
        • Ecstacies of Influence - December 16, 2018 - Le Gesù, Amphithéâtre - Montréal
      • The Past Sealed Away - Peter Wall Institute Artist in Residence - Vancouver, BC 2017 - 2018 >
        • The Past Sealed Away... Article
      • What's in a Song ? - Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta 2017
      • In The Hole - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2017
      • A Ubiquity of Sparrows : Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta 2016 >
        • A Ubiquity of Sparrows : Banff Installation
  • Graphic Scores
    • slippages - 2018 >
      • slippages - Press
      • slippages - Instructions for play and score
      • slippages in the Studio: About my process >
        • slippages Athabasca -Photographs
        • slippages Immense Immensities
        • slippages Notebook
        • slippages Athabasca Painting
      • slippages - Performance Videos
    • Between the Song and the Silence: Berlin 2017 - 2020 >
      • Between the Song and the Silence: Graphic Score- Banff Iteration
      • My Muses
      • What's in a Name?
      • Taking Flight ... The Process
      • Swan Song... A summary of my process for my MFA research
  • Portfolio
    • The Past Sealed Away ...
    • The Past Sealed Away... Prints
    • Immense Immensities
    • In The Hole
    • Mortsaf for My Father
    • Souvenir sacré
    • Fleurs sacrées
    • Mortsaf
    • Genetics for Cowboys
    • Beautiful Ghosts
    • Niagara Tondos
    • Twinned
  • C V
  • Contact

About ​Mortsaf for My Father: Safe Passage

A Mortsaf was a heavy iron cage or grille placed over the coffin or grave of a newly deceased person during the 19th century to deter body snatchers (primarily physicians and artists) and was  thought to protect the sprit or soul of the deceased.

I created this as a Mortsaf for my father, who died in November, 2012.

​The cedar canoe is reminiscent of the canoe we used at our cottage in the Laurentians. There was no road access to our cottage – you had to travel up a creek to the lake. When we were young, my father would always make us wear lifejackets in the rowboat or canoe, and they would be fastened with cotton webbing like that which makes up the “lid” of the Mortsaf. The rowboat had a two-horsepower motor, and because the beavers were always damming the river, the propeller was always getting snagged, usually breaking the cotter pin. Dad would often give me the extra cotter pins to hold in case we needed them. The silver coloured pins seen on the “lid” are cotter pins.

The 189 lbs of Laurentian rock in the bottom of the canoe represents my father’s weight when he died.

When you stand close to the canoe, you can hear the sound of the water in the creek ...
Picture
Cotter pins through Pine doweling hold the webbing "lid" together, and attach the webbing to the canoe frame.
Picture
Mortsaf for My Father: Safe Passage, 40" x 158", Circa 1915 cedar canoe frame, cotton webbing, pine dowels, stainless steel cotter pins, 189lbs Laurentian stone, Bluetooth speaker, 2014 – 2016
​Installation views by Guy L'Heureux
​ We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Nous remercions le Conseil des Arts du Canada de son soutien.
Picture
  • Home
    • Artist Statement
    • Bio
  • Performances
    • Ecstacies of Influence - Le Gesù, Amphithéâtre -Montréal - December 2018
    • slippages - The UBC Symphony Orchestra - Chan Centre - Vancouver - October 2018 >
      • slippages - Press
      • slippages - Instructions for play and score
      • slippages in the Studio: About my process >
        • slippages Athabasca -Photographs
        • slippages Immense Immensities
        • slippages Notebook
        • slippages Athabasca Painting
      • slippages - Performance Videos
  • Exhibitions / Residencies
    • Recent Exhibitions ... Now You See Me... >
      • The Aura of the Already Said - Zygote Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio - 2019 >
        • The Aura of the Already Said: Exhibition - Press
      • Souvenir / Souvenir - Montréal, Québec 2017 >
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Press
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Essay ​Culte du Souvenir
        • Souvenir / Souvenir: About the Exhibition ...
        • About ​Safe Passage
        • About the Paintings ...
        • About the Photographs ...
        • About the Vitrines ...
        • Souvenir / Souvenir : Invitation card
      • Souvenir sacré - Opasatika - Hearst, Ontario 2016
    • Residencies ... Home Away from Home >
      • Ecstasies of Influence : matralab, Concordia University - Montréal 2018 >
        • Ecstacies of Influence - December 16, 2018 - Le Gesù, Amphithéâtre - Montréal
      • The Past Sealed Away - Peter Wall Institute Artist in Residence - Vancouver, BC 2017 - 2018 >
        • The Past Sealed Away... Article
      • What's in a Song ? - Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta 2017
      • In The Hole - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 2017
      • A Ubiquity of Sparrows : Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity, Banff, Alberta 2016 >
        • A Ubiquity of Sparrows : Banff Installation
  • Graphic Scores
    • slippages - 2018 >
      • slippages - Press
      • slippages - Instructions for play and score
      • slippages in the Studio: About my process >
        • slippages Athabasca -Photographs
        • slippages Immense Immensities
        • slippages Notebook
        • slippages Athabasca Painting
      • slippages - Performance Videos
    • Between the Song and the Silence: Berlin 2017 - 2020 >
      • Between the Song and the Silence: Graphic Score- Banff Iteration
      • My Muses
      • What's in a Name?
      • Taking Flight ... The Process
      • Swan Song... A summary of my process for my MFA research
  • Portfolio
    • The Past Sealed Away ...
    • The Past Sealed Away... Prints
    • Immense Immensities
    • In The Hole
    • Mortsaf for My Father
    • Souvenir sacré
    • Fleurs sacrées
    • Mortsaf
    • Genetics for Cowboys
    • Beautiful Ghosts
    • Niagara Tondos
    • Twinned
  • C V
  • Contact