Title

earthgrove

Artist

Wiegman, Clark

Date

2015

Medium

steel

Type

sculpture

Owner

Solo District

Accession Number

NA

Location

4007 Rosser Ave, Burnaby, BC V5C 5J4

Category

Private Development Public Art

Collection

Public Art

Lat/Long

49.266235,-123.005783

View in Google Maps

http://www.google.com/maps?q=49.266235,-123.005783

An environmental artwork entitled earthgrove inhabits the live-work development, Solo District in Burnaby, BC. Conceived and planted as two clusters of ‘timber totems’, each grove enhances its environs as luminous landmarks. Created from weathering plate steel, each totem offers a waterjet-cut roll-formed skein of regional flora and fauna. Comprised of two mirror-image groupings (one located at the SE corner of Lougheed & Rosser and the other within Solo District Central Park), earthgrove functions as a binary commentary on nature and culture. As ecological sentinels, they mark a time and place of life in our Anthropocene epoch. Though the timbers may initially read as decorative scrims from a distance, upon closer examination certain plants and animals can be clearly identified. Each timber is a section of a larger design organized as a mural of Pacific Northwest biota. To aid in this taxonomy, the viewer can access the website www.earthgrove.net via smartphone. Here one can find a map of the mural with links for individual plants and animals that correlate to incised totem imagery.

Clark Wiegman creates environmental artworks for a variety of contexts. His work explores the way culture frames nature as lived experience. Each project responds to situational variables with anomalous beauty that frames the challenges of transformation. Over the past 30 years he has created around fifty public artworks. These include site plans, ephemeral works, sculptural suspensions, sound and light effects, landmarks and amenities. Sites include public parks, transit centers, libraries, schools, streetscapes and plazas in North America and Europe. Notable projects include a gateway illumination for SeaTac International Airport, a clock tower for Sound Transit, an illuminated plaza for the City of Minneapolis, multi-media suspensions for the Washington DC Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Connecticut Commission on the Arts, an interactive waterwall for Key Arena and the world’s only permanent homeless memorial for Victor Steinbrueck Park. His work has received several awards and is included in many public art registries. Mr. Wiegman’s practice focuses on collaborative placemaking. Through innovative design and program solutions, excellent communication skills and efficient use of resources, he consistently delivers the highest level of concept and craft. These skills allow him to work effectively with diverse groups of stakeholders to create esthetic environments that are memorable and unique.