Bent Grasses

Bent Grasses

Studio Outdoor Gallery, 2020

My experience with 1960’s subdivision tract housing was the elimination of all traces of any original landscape. Tract housing was driven by the speed and economy of creating housing for the influx of post war immigrants, and this resulted in creating vast, flat, uniform sites based on the monotony of repetition. Over time, the ethos of economic community development has changed based on a desire for aesthetic quality and the social realization that our natural landscapes and ecosystems are precious.

Planners have had the foresight for many years now to create public and private natural landscapes, in urban, suburban and rural locations. These ‘new’ landscapes have highlighted, restored and integrated historic ecology into the contemporary Canadian fabric. ‘Bent Grasses’ pays homage to this landscape of the past and gives hope to the future. It is a symbol of a community’s acknowledgment of the importance of what once here – diverse natural open grassy meadows surrounded by forest.

Bent Grasses is 12 feet tall, 8 feet long and 12 feet wide at the. Arching over, as if blowing in the wind, together these stems create a strong visual message. By day, the grained aluminum is fresh and bright and through the night it reflects the surrounding lights and moon and it appears to glow. In the warmer months the silver of the aluminum will stand out against the green of the landscape. In the snow, Bent Grasses will be a strong, elegant, beautiful addition to the winter landscape.