Early Bird, 2024, mixed media on canvas 4'x5'
Early Bird plays on the classic idiom "The early bird gets the worm," and twists the story to highlight the pressures of success, of 'productivity', and the loneliness that accompanies the capitalist mentality of hustle culture. Across the canvas is a poem, broken up word by word intentionally to be only able to be read if one slows down. As a challenge to the common trope, the poem reminds us of the theft that takes place in the accumulation of wealth, the time lost in our subscription to these fantasies and the centring of rest, love, and pleasure in our lives.
Here is the poem below:
The early bird
he caught the worm
but only the worms
had really noticed.
His stomach was full
and he bragged to his friends
but the worms
had to hold a service.
The early bird
yes, he got all the worms
and he rushed and he rushed
every morning.
By the time the sun rose
all the birds that had chose
to sleep in had no food
--how alarming !
But in each of their nests
was the love of the rest
that kept kindly
their need for the balance.
That early bird
he’ll be food for the worms
and the worms’ll
celebrate all the excess.
And at early bird’s end
where were all of his friends?
well they sung and they slept
in his absence.
What a life he has missed
he was early to kiss
the grim reaper
and the reaper commended
how he raced to the start
never to made it a part
of his life
Enjoy this playlist of songs that inspired the piece, or that I enjoyed while making it :)
