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Location: Capital Boulevard
Edmonton, Alberta

Material: 316L, Stainless Steel, Glass 

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Award-winning artists Julia Reimer and Tyler Rock, creators of Firebrand Glass Studio, were commissioned by The Places, The Alberta Foundation of the Arts, and the Government of Canada, to create a monumental sculpture bringing meaning to Capital Boulevard in Edmonton, by creating a lasting landmark on the occasion of Canada's 150th anniversary. Together, Julia and Tyler designed a two-meter sphere made of hand-grafted blue glass tiles, activating the space around it through its interaction with natural light. The rhizomatic structure evolves with the time of day, the weather, and the seasons, in the immediate vicinity. This play of light creates an experience for the viewer and grounds the sculpture as a landmark, marking its location, our position, and time. It highlights the ever-changing environment around the object: the sculpture's apertures act as windows framing the present ever-changing moments of life around the sculpture and historical moments using transparent images within some of the windows. 

 

Photography by Gala Theodosis and Carvel Creative

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Project Details

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Firebrand Glass Studio reached out to Carvel to help with the creation of a concept model and photo-realistic renderings for the initial proposal. Once awarded the commission, Firebrand engaged Carvel to continue with the design, fabrication, and installation of the artwork. The structure was painstakingly crafted out of 316L stainless steel, the frame expertly TIG welded and 100% visually inspected, and the 1/3 dye penetrate inspected and passed. Once complete, the structure was media-blasted and passivized to give a uniform and tarnish-free finish.

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