Congratulations, Anna!
The new installation, The Navigators: Bees, Birds & Butterflies / Nos grands amis navigateurs : les oiseaux, les abeilles et les papillons is a series of thirteen stainless steel sculptures running 16’ long behind three Rideau Street bus shelters.
The busy public transit site of Rideau Street is correlated to the flight paths and navigational abilities of birds and flying insects found in Ottawa. The north shelter depicts the flight path of the bee incised with the schedule of bus route #6 and is flanked on both sides by bee wings intricately cut with a honeycomb pattern. The south east shelter represents the ability of birds to sense weather conditions through their filoplumes to ensure safe flight. Nine 5' to 8' bird feathers detail meteorological symbols such as atmospheric pressure, wind speed and visibility. A third sculpture, a 9’ long panel behind the southwest shelter, depicts a butterfly being guided by the magnetic lines of the earth and the radiating form of a flower blossom.