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This is a Northern Gannet. They are not indigenous to Rhode Island but migrate along the coast throughout the year. Last weekend we headed down to Sakonnet Point in Little Compton, RI. for a collecting mission. It was cold and windy but beautiful. Clover found this Gannet close to the water and we stopped to check him out. You never, ever get to see a bird like this close up. Never. So we inspected his beak, his feet, and tried to be wary of how he died. There were 4 of them on the beach that day. They may have died out at sea and floated in. Gannet’s stay out to sea most of the winter and rarely are seen on the shore. I’ve only seen one, and it was sick and couldn’t fly.

Clover was really intrigued by the blueness of his beak and feet (black with blue/yellow vertical stripes) and by the black mask around his eyes. They look so cool, even when they’re dead. I love how Clover’s jacket and finger act as a mirrored reflection of the bird and his beak.  It reminded me of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam from his Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco. It’s her way of reaching out to nature. This image is so gentle and precise, so tender and cold at the same time. The warmth of the gesture coupled with the icy death in the lack of his eyeball. Clover asked me why he didn’t have an eye. We talked for a while about how the soft tissue is the first to go away, fish, crash, bugs. And how the bones will be all that remains after a while. I was glad she didn’t ask to take it home and keep the bones.

I showed this picture to a buddy of mine and his response was “You Burkes sure love dead stuff.” It got me thinking… we do. It’s an opportunity to see and touch animals in a close and personal way that’s not possible. We love dead stuff. The funny thing is we’re all vegetarians. So I guess we love dead stuff, just not in our mouths.

Clover gathered up a few ziploc bags of skate egg cases for a studio shot and some water from the ocean to treat the images with. We’ve been collecting water from sources for a few years now to use back in the studio in some way, just not sure how yet. I will say this, the recent popularity of water treatment on photos in the art world is annoying. I guess the lesson from that is: don’t sit on a good idea. Don’t sit on any idea.