Artists’ work to be installed in two Burlington parks
A new City of Burlington public art program has selected two artists for upcoming installations at local parks.
A jury selected the concepts of artists Carol Nasvytis and Brooke O’Connell for the first Park Marker Program, designed to showcase and develop local talent. Both works will be installed in the fall.
Nasvytis’s concept, titled Ecological Impact, will be installed at Berton Park, 4050 Berton Ave. The central part of the work is a 1.2-metre diameter metal sphere with honeybees cut out and connected by a pattern of dashes that “wind around the sphere.”
“The dashes are suggestive of how the honeybees ‘dance’ to communicate with each other,” says a city media release. “In the spaces between the bees are sections of honeycomb cells.
“Cut into each honeycomb are depictions of fruit, flowers and vegetable crops that rely on the honeybee for pollination.”
The sphere will be installed in a hollow depression in the ground to create a sense of “impact,” as if the sphere had been dropped from above.
The art concept is meant to create awareness of the integral part of the food chain honeybees and other pollinators play.
O’Connell’s work, titled Bird Conversations, will be placed at Fothergill Woods Park, 480 Fothergill Blvd. Three large birds will be attached to trees in the wooded area of Fothergill Woods Park, each designed to give the appearance they are in conversation with one another — recorded bird calls will be activated when a visitor enters the wooded area.
“The installation is an example of different types of birds interacting with each other, which can be seen as a metaphor for the cultural diversity within our community. The birds are sharing an environmental space, communicating, and living together, as humans should.”
The city’s Park Marker Program will be an annual program that commissions local artists to create small-scale sculptures in neighbourhood parks throughout the city.
For more information, visit burlingtonpublicart.com.