The Magpie Project

Magpies (like scousers) often get a bad press! Folktales abound about these birds stealing shiny objects - merely opportunist courtship behaviour with an aim to attract a mate! The term 'magpie' is often used for those of us who collect pretty or unusual things too, & I want to celebrate this whole concept of 'magpie'. Imagine tiny, shiny jewelled finds in the crevices of pavements and walls, inviting further searching, becoming a fascinating trail & a magpie requiem. The 2014 Liverpool Street Art Festival has provided the catalyst and the approval to develop this creative idea into a form of street art along Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle, an up & coming place for flirting! Small, delicately balanced groupings of sparkly beads, shiny buttons, and diamonté jewels will be inset into the pre-existing small cracks in pavements and buildings with smooth resin forming a 'magpie' trail along the street to those social places where we meet others. I want the project to make people smile, question our preconceptions about magpies and use up the 'bucket load' of costume jewellery my mother left me in her will, as homage to her and others magpie ways here in Liverpool!

Funded by Liverpool (June 2014)