Mural on the alley wall of 45 W Hastings, Downtown Eastside, Vancouver (Coast Salish Territories) BC, Canada

A collaboration with Vancouver painter Jordan Bent

45 W Mural: Artist Statement

Every morning, a murder of crows rushes in through the Vancouver streets. Every evening, they retreat. Their journey is a reliable reflection of the daily movements we all make through the urban landscape, whether by following familiar paths or venturing into unfamiliar territory. If one takes a moment to observe the crows as intently as they observe us, one might quickly recognize in them an ancient wisdom that, like wings, provides for perspective high above the daily confusion of the city.

Clever and resourceful, the crow will always know exactly what it is seeking, and just how to find it. Amidst a dense network of concrete and wires, the crow will duck and twist, dive and hover, deftly flying right through any obstacles in its path. From the crow, no secrets can be kept.

But to the bird who sees how full the streets are with strife and challenge, a secret is little more than a truth we hide from ourselves. From its vantage point in the sky, the crow knows that those delicately concealed ribbon bows we keep hidden from each other- a song, a poem, an emotion unexpressed, a tender place in our hearts- may bring so much good to all of us if only the ribbon knots untied, picked up delicately, and carried streaming across the landscape like stars streaking in the sky.