For the First Capital Realty Public Sculpture Competition, in collaboration with Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Installed January 2018 in New Westminster, BC. On level 2 of The Shops at New West, which is at the New Westminster Skytrain Station.
The swooping curves of Gestures of Birds call to mind a bird fluttering through the air, drawing a line through space. The cheerful, yellow shapes are decorated with bird deterrent spikes, as a reminder of the actual birds who share our urban spaces with us.
A careful observer will notice that the sculpture changes over time, as the wind moves the curves into different alignments and intersections. The viewer is invited to reflect on the real and imagined travels of daily life, and the beings that we encounter along the way.
Birds lift our eyes and our thoughts upwards. They help us to consider different ways of being in the world. We might soar free like a sparrow in flight, open our hearts and sing like a canary, or traverse the skies both near and far in search of adventure and home.
Fiberglass, stainless steel, brass screws, and brass bird-deterrent spikes.