By Staff
December 5, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
Xiaojing Yan’s design has been chosen as the public artwork that will be installed on a median on Plains Road near the Francis Road intersection.
A community jury made up of residents, local artists and business owners reviewed three proposals along with feedback from 220 residents during the summer. The artwork, Dwelling, is expected to be installed in spring 2018.
Public art will be set up on the median on Plains Road near the Francis Road intersection.
Dwelling has six house shapes in different sizes made of stainless steel. In a media release from the city the art work is described. “A house creates a sense of place, belonging and home. The notion of home relates to places of memory, family history, social comment and environmental issues. It is through relationships and experiences that a house becomes a home.
“The house image has been turned into a greenhouse to honour the Royal Botanical Gardens. This represents health, physical activity and recreation. It also suggests an evolving social metaphor of sustainability and self-sufficiency.”
Xiaojing Yan is a Chinese Canadian artist who lives and works in Markham, Ont. She earned a MFA for Sculpture from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a BFA from Nanjing Arts Institution in China.
Yan’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums internationally. Her work has been included in many private and public collections. She is also a recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the 2014 Outstanding Young Alumni award from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, a project grant from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Chalmers Arts Fellowship and Mid-career Grant from Ontario Arts Council.
Public art installation on Plains Road at Waterdown Road.
In 2010, a Xiaojing Yan design was selected for the Burlington Downtown Bike Rack Project. Yan sees her design as part of the evolution of Plains Road from a gravel road to a highway and then to a residential main street.
Dwellings is the second piece of public art to be installed on Plains Road.
My memory tells me that there was a sculpture slated for in front of the Jazz Condo. Is this still on the books or am I having another senior moment?
Lets hope this one garners more interest than the tubes stuck in concrete “art”.