Lodge, 2004
Location: Sir Winston Churchill Square (SW corner)
The scale and structure of Lodge – comprising two free-standing components – allows it to be seen both as an object and as a place. The sculpture’s main component resembles a simple, elongated shelter with an extreme peak. The stainless steel mesh allows the viewer to discern images projected from within the base of the sculpture onto a lit dome at its centre. The image fragments are subtle, abstract, and ever-changing with time and seasons as the dome element is lit from sunset to midnight each day. The second component, located beside the shelter, is a tall thin pole comprising a stainless steel bottom and a top of coloured polyurethane.
Clay Ellis describes his work as, “…a response to the site, which offers both intimate and distant views, my hope was to create a sculpture that could be perceived as both object and place. I had in mind the form of a simple shelter, lit from within, that on approaching, could be thought of as perhaps a beacon, then shelter, then hearth. The title Lodge seemed to be a definition that spanned that scale. The light source, generated from a projection system (housed within the sculpture), is meant to cover an equally wide spectrum. Images of (and from) the city can be gathered and projected, changing with time and season.”
Biography: Born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, in 1955, Clay Ellis resides in Edmonton, where he has maintained a studio since 1981. A participant of many international workshops, Ellis’ work has been included in numerous exhibitions in England, France, Spain, Botswana, the USA, and Canada. While living in France in 1995, he co-organized Triangle France, an international artists’ workshop held at the l’Ecole d’Art de Marseille Luminy. In 2003 he was the guest artist at the Emma Lake Workshop in Saskatchewan, Canada, and in 2006, as an artist-in-residence, he constructed an installation in the Hopkins Center in Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH. Ellis has lectured at the University of Lethbridge, the University of Saskatchewan, the Georgian College, the Emily Carr School of Art and Design, and the New York Studio School. He is represented in private and public collections including the Mendel Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Alberta, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the Canada Council, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona.
Produced by: The Places – Art & Design in Public Places Program
Collection: City of Edmonton Public Art Collection
Sponsoring Partner: TELUS
Supporting Partner: City of Edmonton
Community Partner: Cine Audio Visual
Media: Stainless Steel, Steel, and Polyurethane sculpture
Sources: Peter Robertson Gallery, Clay Ellis CV, The Places, Art and Design in Public Places Program
Photo Credit: Ester Malzahn