Public art will create a wonderful legacy

Re: “Orcas reimagined for sculpture near new bridge,” Dec. 15. I was astonished at Victoria Coun. Geoff Young’s desire to “not allow an artist to say even one single word or write one single word” in a public-art competition. Travelling down this path would lead, inevitably, to the most trite and banal results in those competitions.

In the current competition, there appears to be a strikingly original, timely and rewarding sculpture soon to enhance the location beside a beautiful modern bridge looking to the future. I have not had the privilege of hearing the artists’ thoughts and insights into their collaboration, but some first impressions come to my mind.

The reimagining of orca with surfboards resonates of today’s youth culture with the ancient First Nations symbolism of strength of love and the bonds of family. The use of sound in the sculpture will evoke the intangible heritage of the First Nations who have lived here for more than 10,000 years.

It appears to me that the artists have given us a symbolic bridge between past and present, two cultures and an implied hope for the future as we engage in truth and reconciliation.

And the cost? It doesn’t bother me. Consider that the citizens of Ottawa are on the hook for $5.6 million for a skating rink that will last a few months. Our bridge and the sculpture will be here for many generations, and I am certain that those in the future will marvel at our strength of purpose to create such a wonderful legacy. Nick Tuele Saanichton