Gather-Ring Stays Put for Now in Prominent Ottawa Spot
, a wood, metal and glass installation in the plaza on the Ottawa side of the Portage Bridge, created by 杏吧原创 University Architecture Prof. Manuel B谩ez and several collaborators, will remain on display until at least August 2019.
The artwork, as part of the Department of Canadian Heritage鈥檚 sesquicentennial competition, was originally scheduled to remain a year in the location. It鈥檚 a prominent public spot offering a panoramic view of the Ottawa River, Victoria Island, the parliamentary precinct, the curves of the Douglas Cardinal-designed Museum of History in Gatineau, and the Confederation Loop trail that connects the waterfronts of the two cities.
The Gather-Ring was inspired by a pair of iconic symbols deeply rooted in Indigenous culture: the tree and the dream catcher.
With benches made from eastern white pine logs recovered from the Ottawa River and Douglas fir columns from British Columbia, it was built in collaboration with glass artist and a multicultural crew of Architecture students. It was welcomed onto unceded Algonquin territory by members of the . The installation makes a powerful statement about historical perspective, cross-cultural connections and the circles and cycles of life.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an offering to the entire community,鈥 says B谩ez, an artist, designer and architect licensed in New York whose work is heavily influenced by natural systems and processes, an ethos that resonates with Indigenous worldviews.
鈥淲hen you sit on one of the benches, you鈥檙e being asked, in a way, to think about what was here before 1867. It鈥檚 a place to get together and talk and reflect on the past 鈥 and on the present and future.鈥
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