Human Nature II (2012)

Paul Slipper

Garden City Community Park, 9120 Alberta Road

Area: City Centre
Location: On the south side of the Alberta Greenway, and west of the parking lot within Garden City Community Park.

Materials: Carved granite.

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

Description of Work

A series of 5 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.