Mom, Dad, Why?

framed dimension: 11 x 13 in. Created using 18 stencils.

edition: 3/60

This ostrich meme is meant to be both amusing and slightly alarming. The popular myth of a picture of ostrich with head in sand, refers to people who ignore reality, and think that if they ‘burry their head in the sand’ and therefore cannot see a problem, the problem will magically go away. I frequently try to inject the ideas I put into my artwork, with a sense of humor. The Ostrich adult, or ‘Parent’ in this serigraph has its head in the sand, ignoring any problems that do not immediately affect them. Meanwhile the chicks, ‘children’ are looking around, and realizing how very big a footprint their parents have left on the planet that they will inherit.

Ostriches lay their eggs in holes they dig in the ground. It is important to insure that the eggs are evenly heated during the incubation process, so the ostrich parent will put their head in the dirt and turn the eggs over periodically. This would definitely look like an ‘ostrich sticking its head in the sand’, and the myth arose from this unusual behavior. - Margot Cormier Splane