Eleventh Hour
18" x 18" etching
$200

A take-off from the practice of using a canary in a coal mine, this image is pretty spoon fed as far as a concept goes. Not too long ago, miners working deep in the shafts of the mines would be exposed to many dangers — one of them being odorless, lethal gas. The miners would bring a canary in a cage with them to detect the gas because it would kill the bird first, warning them to get out.

This image is a twist on that warning. Here the bird cage is the planet representing a global warning. The visual elements in the corners represent warning signs as well … a compass pointing south, a clock on the eleventh hour (time running out) and two extinct animals (the Great Auk and the Dodo bird). The chess board also indicates the game of chances we are playing with the exploitation of this planet.