The Fraser, Rewinding Earth's Time Tape (1998)

Gwen Boyle

Lang Park, 8211 Saba Rd.

Area: City Centre
Location: No longer on display

Materials: Concrete, blue slate, boulders.

Program: Civic
Ownership: Civic
Sponsored By: Perla Development

Description of Work

A large spiral walkway imbedded with blue slate carved with text from the booklet "Meeting Places, Richmond's Town Hall, 1879-1995" by Mary Keen. The spiral's centre is a blue slate 'raincatcher'.

Artist Statement

This work was inspired by the fossils of the Burgess Shale from the Devonian Period and relates to the Fraser Delta and its source in the Rockies where these fossils were found. The elements of this site specific work include the names of lost streams that fed into the Fraser River, historical quotes from the period of regional settlement, a "raincatcher" - a carved stone bowl with an imbedded image of the last of these ancient species, the sturgeon.