Locals are responding swimmingly to a school of salmon sculptures that has just been set up in three Squamish neighbourhoods, according to the artist in charge.
Since the trio of installations was set up on Oct. 29, multimedia artist Christina Nick said she’s received dozens of compliments from residents.
“A lot of people were like, ‘Wow, right on,’” said Nick, who has lived in Squamish for 14 years. “The people we saw were super positive.”
In the first three hours after the projects were set up, Nick said she received about two dozen positive comments from locals in-person or online, mostly from people aged 25 and up.
And she’s been given many more well-wishes since then.
“People connect to salmon,” said Nick. “Salmon are a pretty strong symbol of the region.”
The permanent installations feature multi-coloured salmon made of welded steel, which are positioned to give the appearance of fish leaping up a waterfall.
Nick made the sculptures in the Brackendale Art Gallery, where she has been working for 15 years.
She chose to feature this animal because she believes the fish are the building block of the Squamish ecosystem.
“It’s an animal that’s the cornerstone of all life,” she said of the salmon’s role in the region.
Her sculptures have also been inspired by the controversy surrounding salmon farming.
“It’s very topical right now,” said Nick, who is critical of the salmon farming industry. “It might make people think more about salmon in general and their choices, whether they buy farmed salmon or wild salmon.”
The sculptures can be found downtown, at the eagle-viewing dike at Eagle Run in Brackendale and at the entrance to the Garibaldi Village overpass in Garibaldi Estates.
This project was launched as part of the Connecting Squamish Neighbourhoods program, which was started earlier this year by the district’s Public Art Select committee.
Nick is the first artist to be featured under the program.
She hopes to continue contributing more artwork to the Squamish community, though she has no other public projects being displayed in the town in the immediate future.
However, she is working on an installation for the BC Children’s Hospital on Oak Street in Vancouver, which is slated for opening in June next year.
The sculpture will feature a mother bear and her cub, and is expected to be displayed in one of the hospital’s courtyard gardens.
