Sculptor’s work to hang in Edmonton Convention Centre
By Tim Kalinowski on March 19, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com ith examples of symmetry and cooperation in nature will soon reveal a golden vision which will hang in the Edmonton Convention Centre for years to come.Sculptor Catherine Ross has been working on the installation art piece “Migratory Paths,” which represents a flock of birds turning in mid-flight, for the past two years after winning a province-wide competitive bidding process.
“I just said basically,” says Ross, explaining how she won the bid, “‘Can you imagine a flock of thousands of golden birds flying across the atrium in the Edmonton Convention Centre?’ That’s all it took.
“It is going to hang from the ceiling,” she explains. “The bottom bird is going to hang 16 feet above (those below). This gold is going to sparkle, and there is going to be additional lighting to highlight it even better just to make it pop out.”
Ross has the full sculpture, encompassing thousands of little gold hand shaped birds suspended on wires from a framing structure, temporarily on display in her home studio, and will be packing it up to take to Edmonton later this week.
“This has been a beautiful project,” she says looking over at the sculpture lovingly in a recent interview with The Herald, “and the timing of it couldn’t have been better in terms of concentrating on the tasks at hand.”
The project was all-engrossing, she explains further, at a time when COVID-19 has disrupted so many artists’ work and all other aspects of society.
But Ross won’t be sitting on her laurels for long. She already has two other major installation projects in the works, including one speaking of her concerns for the Eastern Slopes and the health of rivers in southwestern Alberta in light of recent attempts by the coal-mining industry to open major projects within this picturesque landscape.
“A lot of my inspiration comes from the natural world, and for some reason it always has,” Ross admits. “Animals behave in a certain way, and humans behave in a certain way. None of us our perfect, but some of us can manage to live in huge environments like this with each other, and not hate each other. There is a lot of cooperation in nature, whether it is instinctual or social. Who knows really?
“And there are a lot of overwhelming qualities in nature,” she adds, referencing the Hitchcock film “The Birds” which she admits scared her as a child; “so there are counterpoints.” Follow @TimKalHerald on Twitter 4
-3
