P454V2i

The Albatross Equation -
The fault defined

Feb 2024

Digital collage / computer generated

51cm (20") x 63.5cm (25")

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A note re magpies

For as long as I can remember I have known the saying which indicates that seeing a single magpie is the harbinger of bad luck on the way, while seeing a pair of magpies indicates good luck in the offing - 'One for sadness, two for joy'.

For almost as long I have known that the rhyme exists in a longer form, and with regional variations. This knowledge dates back to the days of the television series 'Magpie'. Although I never saw the programme I heard the song many times -

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.

I remember reading or hearing of a version that went beyond seven, and wherein all the even numbers were connected with good luck/positives, and all the uneven numbers were connected with bad luck/negatives.

None of any of this has a connection with the image above. When planning and making the image above the idea of a good luck / bad luck connection with the magpies never entered my mind - concentration and tunnel vision while elaborating a complicated work!

Two months after finishing the image I am driving when a single magpie flies across the road 50 metres or so ahead of me. Later, looking at the image, the thought occurs 'Will people looking at the image imagine a connection with the rhyme?'.

First idea - check if there are versions of the rhyme which go up to thirteen. There are - one '13' alludes to a creature of ill comportment, another '13' states 'beware the Devil himself', although the Devil is quite common, also appearing variously as '7', '9' (twice), '18' and '5' amongst the rhymes I found.

However another '13' alludes to a good luck knowledge of magic.

In consequence of now knowing that magpie rhymes go up to 13 it behoves me to state that the 13 magpies in the image above have no connection with magpie rhymes. They represent in fact thirteen points on a map. Similarly the 13 rubber ducks on P454V2iii 'The Albatross Equation - What was the question again?' represent 13 points on another map.