A Drop of Blood- What We Carry: The Magpie Series

About the work

2026

Acrylic, Oil bar , gold leaf, spray paint on canvas.

100W x 150Ht x 4D cm (39.3″x 59″ x 1.5″)

A Drop of Blood was inspired by an old British and Scottish superstition surrounding magpies. While researching the many myths associated with the bird, I came across the belief that magpies carried a drop of the Devil’s blood beneath their tongues, and that releasing it would allow them to speak like humans.

The absurdity of the story immediately caught my attention. Yet beneath it sits something more familiar: our tendency to project meaning, fear, and superstition onto the unknown. Throughout history, magpies have been cast as omens, tricksters, thieves, and messengers, carrying the weight of countless stories that reveal as much about us as they do about the bird itself.

Through layered surfaces, fragmented forms, and areas of tension and concealment, A Drop of Blood explores the space where myth and belief begin to blur. A quiet unease runs through the work, inviting the viewer to consider what lies beneath the stories we inherit and the fears we continue to carry.