A sculpture known as the Sculpture Bird can also be referred to as the Dream Catcher or the Spirit Catcher. It can be seen on the beach of Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie, which is located 15 Lakeshore Dr, Barrie, ON L4N 6T4, Canada.. Sculptor Ron Baird was the one who first came up with the idea for it to be displayed during Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Expo 86 organizers solicited submissions from nine different sculptors, but only two were ultimately chosen to be commissioned for the event. The sculpture was carved out of COR-TEN steel over the course of six months. This particular alloy produces an oxide that does not corrode and maintains its structural integrity.
After the conclusion of the exhibition, the sculpture was sold for the equivalent of $230,000 Canadian to the Helen McCrea Peacock Foundation in Toronto. Following that, the foundation gave the sculpture to the “Barrie Gallery Project” in the hopes that it would serve as motivation for the establishment of an art gallery in the city of Barrie. The installation of the artwork, which weighed twenty tons and was seventy feet wide by twenty-one meters tall, was carried out by volunteers with the assistance of two cranes. The sculpture measured twenty-five meters in width and seventy feet in height. It took place over the course of two days on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of June in 1987, and it was dedicated on the 12th of September that same year. More info
The wind causes the sixteen dynamic quills that are attached to the sculpture to sway back and forth as it moves. Concerns were raised over the stability of the structure after it had been built on the site in Barrie for a number of months because of the unpredictability of the winds that came ashore from Kempenfelt Bay. The artist, with the aid of Mike Davies, the recently retired vice president of advanced engineering of de Havilland aircraft, redesigned the quills. Mike Davies was instrumental in this endeavor.
Travelers and residents of the city alike may use the sculpture as a gathering spot and a directional assistance when they are along the waterfront in Barrie since it acts as a focal point on the waterfront. The sculpture’s installation sparked an ongoing initiative to disperse a large number of works of art across the city, which is still going strong to this day.
In June of 2021, the Sculpture Bird will have children’s shoes attached to it.
Residents of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, paid their respects to the 215 children whose remains were discovered in an unmarked grave at the Kamloops Indian Residential School by placing children’s footwear at the base of the Sculpture Bird in May of 2021. Next is Saldon Arena
