Public Artwork
Locus
Artwork creator(s):
Rye, Lyla
Text author(s):
Rye, Lyla
Installation year:
2002
Remarks on location:
1444 Dupont Street, Unite 11A, Toronto, Ontario, M6P 4H3
Description:
The juniper bush is a symbol of rejuvenation in fairy tales. Walking around, one can read the handwritten text cut into a black rubber ring encircling a juniper bush. The text is based upon a conversation with a local farmer as well as personal memories of the area.
Text of the artwork:
Inner ring:
"My grandparents homesteaded that piece of land back over there. I grew up here but moved down to Toronto. I lived there for 25 years and then I came back here."
Center ring:
"When I was growing up here, I remember the sound of the frogs being so loud. Then they died down to almost nothing. Since DDT has been outlawed for a few years, now they've come back again."
Outer ring:
"The tent caterpillars are bad again this year. Do you remember that year, a good 20 years ago now, when they were so bad? They took out a wide straight swath of forest in their path."
Artwork theme:
Pollution and environmental regeneration
History:
Finding the Intimate in Nature, September 22-October 22, 2002, the 5th annual exhibition, The Tree Museum, Gravenhurst. Exhibited from 2002 to 2008.
The artist combines Locus in one of her movies, The Juniper Tree, in which a woman reads a passage from the tale The Juniper Tree by the Brothers Grimm. The Juniper Tree was exhibited in conjunction with the exhibition The Tree Museum, at York Quay Gallery (Harbourfront) in Toronto, in 2002.
Specifications: DVD projection on a wooden book. Video Length: 7 min. Dimensions of the book: 15x105x53 cm.
Note(s):
Verbal exchange between the artist and a farmer
Artist's biography:
Lyla Rye Document(s):
Syndicate
