Mark Harris’s and Carmel Buckley’s Sparrow Come Back Home celebrates the artistic, political and sociological achievements of Slinger Francisco, known as Mighty Sparrow. Sparrow is a Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist who is widely recognized as the "Calypso King of the World".

Examining archive, legacy and heritage, Sparrow Come Back Home deploys as its primary visual engagement a stunning wall comprised of 228 ceramic representations of the front and back covers of hundreds of Sparrow’s albums from his entire career alongside an archive of printed material relating to his music. As a whole, the installation reveals the depth of calypso culture. The images of the albums are comprised of photo decals fired onto the tiles, fixing his music into a kind of permanent memorial. Sparrow Come Back Home is the title of a 1962 album by the legendary Calypso singer and points out the irony of being appreciated only once he had left Trinidad for the US.

Artist Talk

Carmel Buckley & Mark Harris: Sparrow Come Back Home | Calypso, Mighty Sparrow & Caribbean Diaspora