Art portrays real and imagined

Arts Week in Sidney started with a party Friday morning as the town unveiled its first juried public art.

With the vista of the new Beacon Park pavilion, the town saw art as the perfect next step — public art in the public park. Sidney’s Local Area Plan also supports the inclusion of art in new developments and on public property.

They began the search in February with a request for proposals.

“The response from the local arts community was amazing,” said Alison Verhagen, manager of planning for Sidney.

“It’s very rewarding seeing the number of artists that came forward and put submissions in,” agreed Diane Thorp, of the Community Arts Council of the Saanich Peninsula. The jurors, a selection committee including; a town councillor, a town staffer, a representative of the arts council and a gallery owner had to whittle the entries to a shortlist.

“Bringing it down to three was difficult,” Thorp said.

The jurors were impressed with the high-quality of the 27 submissions. Each finalist was asked to provide a maquette for consideration. The quality of these maquettes made the final decision even more difficult.

They chose the steel works of Jake James.

“Because Beacon Park is such an exposed site, whatever goes there has to weather the seasons and time,” Verhagen said.

The “slightly larger than life” figures will be a power walker with dog and a pirate captain.

James is an English-born blacksmith, now living in Sooke. Jake spent his early years living on a barge in east India docks and much of his childhood was spent on the westerly tip of England — in Cornwall. On the wild promontories of his ancestral homeland, James developed a deep respect and admiration for the beauty of his natural environment; which inspires much of his work today.

The figures will portray both the real and the imagined uses of the waterside walkway.

“The power walker was fairly easy because I was just down there and there were lots of people walking around … it’s a pretty obvious setting,” James said.

The pirate is set to inspire imaginations, and came almost as easily as the power walker.

“I have small kids who are obsessed with pirates,” James said. “I couldn’t think of anything more fun than a pirate.”

A fan of abstract art in the right setting, James was determined to create pieces that could speak to everyone.

“I needed something that’s totally populist and totally engaging and amazing,” James said.

“I love abstract art in the right setting,” he added.

After slaving away on the pieces for four 80-hour weeks, James will learn after Friday if the hard work was worth it.

“I haven’t had the response from the public yet, but so far the response has been good,” James said.

He’s done one other public art project, outside a coffee house in James Bay, but is pleased to have a second under his belt.

“I’ve been shortlisted a couple of times with public art in Saanich,” he said. “This is probably one of the best locations, it’s so visible … I didn’t want to let this one slip by.”

And his second public art project will likely be a long-lasting venture. The forged steel will have a rust finish and clear coat which will hold back the rust some.

“They’ll weather because they’re steel but my vision is they’ll get a lot of physical contact, I can see kids climbing on them,” James said. “The organic nature of the rust for me is very appealing.”

“They’re going to outlast me and probably my kids,” James said. “They might change … but I don’t see a problem with it.”

reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com