The military community has a long-standing presence in – and connection with – the City of Edmonton. The design challenge for this project – the commemoration of this connection – as set out by the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Arts Council, required an approach that challenged the typical retrospective war memorial; a robust, celebratory piece capable of dynamically capturing all the voices of the modern military.
The response is a project that actively acknowledges the joyous and challenging transition between civilian and military life, while simultaneously serving as a tribute the power of community; despite a physical absence, support from loved ones ensures our soldiers are always home.
Compositionally, the project comprises a series of folded aluminum totemic elements that describe a multiplicity of paths through the site. Water jet cut into these totems, imagery that speaks to themes of peacekeeping, aid, community, and homecoming creates an aggregation of fractured scenes. Visitors are challenged to seek out and re-assemble the scenes, to be stitched together through their own experiences and associations. Activated by one’s movement through the site, memories come in and out of focus as visual connections are established, released, and reflected.
The military community has a long-standing presence in – and connection with – the City of Edmonton. The design challenge for this project – the commemoration of this connection – as set out by the City of Edmonton and the Edmonton Arts Council, required an approach that challenged the typical retrospective war memorial; a robust, celebratory piece capable of dynamically capturing all the voices of the modern military.
The response is a project that actively acknowledges the joyous and challenging transition between civilian and military life, while simultaneously serving as a tribute the power of community; despite a physical absence, support from loved ones ensures our soldiers are always home.
Compositionally, the project comprises a series of folded aluminum totemic elements that describe a multiplicity of paths through the site. Water jet cut into these totems, imagery that speaks to themes of peacekeeping, aid, community, and homecoming creates an aggregation of fractured scenes. Visitors are challenged to seek out and re-assemble the scenes, to be stitched together through their own experiences and associations. Activated by one’s movement through the site, memories come in and out of focus as visual connections are established, released, and reflected.