DEBORAH CARRUTHERS
  • Home
    • Artist Statement
    • Bio
  • Exhibitions / Residencies/Performances
    • Exhibitions ... Now You See Me... >
      • What Remains Unexplained 2.0: The Endpoint Collective
      • Beyond the Stone Angel: artists reflect on the death of their parents, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, October 2021- February 2022 >
        • More About ​Safe Passage
        • More About the Paintings ...
      • Announcing the Coming of the Sun, Adjacent to Life Gallery, New York, New York, USA , 2021
      • The Aura of the Already Said - Zygote Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio - 2019
      • Souvenir / Souvenir - Montréal, Québec 2017 >
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Press
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Essay ​Culte du Souvenir
        • Souvenir / Souvenir: About the Exhibition ...
        • Souvenir / Souvenir : Invitation card
    • Performances ... Once Upon a Time ... >
      • 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
    • 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 ? Between the Song and the Silence: 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
    • reading between the lines - 2022
    • safe passage - 2021 >
      • safe passage: Graphic Score for Canoe Installation
    • 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 - 2021 >
      • Between the Song and the Silence: Graphic Score- Studies for Hobrechtsfelde Iteration
      • 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
    • Mortsaf for My Father : the Series ... >
      • Mortsaf for My Father : the Paintings ...
      • Mortsaf for My Father: ​Safe Passage
    • Allegory for a New Ice Age ... Photographs
    • The Past Sealed Away ... Painting
    • The Past Sealed Away... Prints
    • The Past sealed Away: Athabasca - Photographs
    • Immense Immensities Miniature Watercolours
    • In The Hole
    • Souvenir sacré
    • Souvenir sacré - Opasatika
    • Fleurs sacrées
    • Mortsaf
    • Genetics for Cowboys
    • Beautiful Ghosts
    • Niagara Tondos
    • Twinned
  • C V
  • Contact

A Ubiquity of Sparrows: The Early Bird...

 On my first visit  in 2015 to the Museum für Naturkunde (the Museum of Natural History) in Berlin, I encountered a diorama in the ornithology exhibits which looked at birds in the urban environment. Prominently displayed was a municipal public garbage can filled with ersatz garbage, and festooned with a handful of species of birds. In terms of sheer numbers, sparrows were amply represented (I have included a few photos of the display for context).

This in turn reminded me of the collective noun for sparrows, “ubiquity”, and so a flock of sparrows is known as a “ubiquity of sparrows”. And they truly seemed ubiquitous in Berlin! At every outdoor café the songbirds could be seen hopping about the feet of patrons. Flocks exploded out of the bushes and trees which  had concealed them save for their bursts of song.

 I began thinking about what makes some bird species so successful. For example, there have long been arguments about whether birds like the sparrow have extended their range because they are adaptable regarding diet and environment and aggressive toward native species, crowding more the vulnerable native species out of their habitats. Other opinions argue for a more passive encroachment; as vulnerable native species succumb to environmental pressures precipitated primarily by humans, other species, such as sparrows, move in to occupy the void.
​
Which has led to my observations of the sparrow’s behavior, and ours in relation to theirs, photographing them in urban settings. 
Photography : Berlin Sparrows
​
​Sparrow dioramas: Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
At every outdoor café the songbirds could be seen hopping about the feet of patrons. Flocks exploded out of the bushes and trees which  had concealed them save for their bursts of song.
​ 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
  • Exhibitions / Residencies/Performances
    • Exhibitions ... Now You See Me... >
      • What Remains Unexplained 2.0: The Endpoint Collective
      • Beyond the Stone Angel: artists reflect on the death of their parents, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Saskatchewan, October 2021- February 2022 >
        • More About ​Safe Passage
        • More About the Paintings ...
      • Announcing the Coming of the Sun, Adjacent to Life Gallery, New York, New York, USA , 2021
      • The Aura of the Already Said - Zygote Gallery, Cleveland, Ohio - 2019
      • Souvenir / Souvenir - Montréal, Québec 2017 >
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Press
        • Souvenir / Souvenir - Essay ​Culte du Souvenir
        • Souvenir / Souvenir: About the Exhibition ...
        • Souvenir / Souvenir : Invitation card
    • Performances ... Once Upon a Time ... >
      • 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
    • 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 ? Between the Song and the Silence: 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
    • reading between the lines - 2022
    • safe passage - 2021 >
      • safe passage: Graphic Score for Canoe Installation
    • 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 - 2021 >
      • Between the Song and the Silence: Graphic Score- Studies for Hobrechtsfelde Iteration
      • 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
    • Mortsaf for My Father : the Series ... >
      • Mortsaf for My Father : the Paintings ...
      • Mortsaf for My Father: ​Safe Passage
    • Allegory for a New Ice Age ... Photographs
    • The Past Sealed Away ... Painting
    • The Past Sealed Away... Prints
    • The Past sealed Away: Athabasca - Photographs
    • Immense Immensities Miniature Watercolours
    • In The Hole
    • Souvenir sacré
    • Souvenir sacré - Opasatika
    • Fleurs sacrées
    • Mortsaf
    • Genetics for Cowboys
    • Beautiful Ghosts
    • Niagara Tondos
    • Twinned
  • C V
  • Contact