Human Nature (2008)

Paul Slipper

Garden City Residences, 9188 Cook Rd.

Area: City Centre
Location: On the east side of the entrance to the tower condominium. An additional installation is further east on the raised public greenway to Garden City Community Park.

Materials: Carved granite.

Program: Private
Ownership: Civic
Sponsored By: Chandler Development Group

Description of Work

A series of 13 large carved granite sculptures representing ferns and humans.

Artist Statement

The inspiration for my sculptures are the developmental phases of a fern. The fern emerges from the ground as a fiddlehead and slowly unfurls as it grows into a mature plant. In my sculptures a human figure is revealed as the fern matures and unfurls. The human form is not visible in the fiddlehead sculptures and is fully visible in the larger sculptures.

The figures emerging from the fiddleheads represent the very young and the fully unfurled figures represent adults. Together the various phases reflect the community as whole. The organic theme also speaks to how as a community grows and rises, the people of the community become ever more rooted. It is these root systems that provide the base for future generations to live and prosper.