Client: Keltic Canada Development
Location: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Completion date: 2022
Project Team
Artist
Blessing Hancock
Public Art Officer/Commissioner
Lori Philips
North Vancouver Recreation & Culture Commission
Developer
Lions Gate Village
Keltic Canada Development
Fabricator/Installer
Ben Blaney
Art Research Enterprises
Engineering
David Moses
Moses Structural Engineers
Overview
Lions Gate Village is a luxurious, resort-style development in North Vancouver, British Columbia, popular for its upscale restaurants, retail and entertainment. The developer, Keltic Canada Development, chose celebrated sculpture artist Blessing Hancock to create an original piece to illuminate the community space. The result is Alluvii, a series of three artworks inspired by the local river ecosystem. The title stems from the word ‘alluvion,’ a term used to describe the action of a sea or river forming new land by deposition.
Influenced by the neighboring Cleveland Dam and Capilano River, the primary 7.5 meter-high sculpture establishes an eye-catching element that naturally attracts visitors to the new development. The secondary lanterns and tertiary 17 meter glass frit wall are incorporated to guide visitors through the space with visual clues based on point-of-view.
The sculptures can be interpreted in many different ways, such as water dripping from leaves, kayaks going down the river, or a streaming waterfall. These sculptures integrate nature and new technology with an overall theme of innovation and new experience.
Blessing’s artistic design created a signature, multi-sensory (light, shadow, color) art series with different daytime and dusk-to-dark experiences.
Goals
For Park West at Lions Gate Village, a new retail hub in North Vancouver, Keltic Canada Development sought out Blessing Hancock to create a new, unique public art experience to appeal to the local community.
Blessing designed the series of artworks, collectively called Alluvii, inspired by the local river ecosystem. The resulting pieces not only incorporate the local environment and beautify the space but also act as landmarks to attract visitors to the new development and help guests find their way through visual clues.
The developer engaged with the North Vancouver Recreation and Culture Commission to commission the work. Lori Philips, Public Art Officer, was instrumental in the process, and described the project ahead of its unveiling, “Alluvii will serve as a beautiful beacon to the District of North Vancouver’s precious natural resources and spectacular landscape. We look forward to enjoying this striking piece for years to come.”
Process
Blessing is a standout in her field for the innovative path she took in the sculpture space, choosing to bring together experts in fabrication, engineering and installation, so she can solely focus on her creative process.
The majority of Blessing’s contemporaries are from architectural backgrounds who run collaborative design studios that often use computer-generated algorithms to design sculptures. Blessing takes a different approach by designing her pieces alone then subcontracting the builds to various fabricators across the U.S. to ensure the right team is bringing her artistic vision to life.
For Alluvii, Blessing designed the series of artworks then enlisted fabricator and installer Ben Blaney of Art Research Enterprises and David Moses of Moses Structural Engineers to execute the installation.