Vancouver artists to reveal urbanization-inspired sculpture Eyes on the Street on July 21

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      As Vancouver grows more populated, artists are looking for ways to create public works that communicate concepts of unity and security with the people that inhabit the space. Vancouver-based sculptor Marie Khouri believes she has done just that with her sculpture Eyes on the Street.

      Khouri—who was born in Egypt and raised in Lebanon—unveils her sculpture on Saturday (July 21) in Southwest False Creek. The pair of stainless-steel pieces, commisioned by developer Concert Properties, stand 18- and 12-feet tall, and approximately 10-feet-wide.

      The process started in the palm of Khouri’s hand, with a small clay version of the sculpture. The piece was then 3-D scanned, upscaled in Styrofoam, carved, and then sent to a New York foundry to be cast in stainless steel. 

      Khouris says no foundry in Canada could cast a sculpture of that scale. Creating the sculpture was very labour intensive, with Khouri sanding and polishing the massive creation.

      Eyes on the Street—which took 14 months from inception to installation—marks the first collaboration between Khouri and artist Charlotte Wall, who provided valuable support on the administrative side of the project.

      “That allowed me to start working on concepts that could make it accessible for people to really view the final product,” Khouri says.

      The installation will stand in water, adding a reflective quality to the sculpture.

      “When you’re working with stainless steel, it’s a mirror. It reflects the clouds, the sky, the buildings and people. So it’s there and it’s very big, but at the same time it’s not there,”  Khouri says.

      Southwest False Creek was once industrial and largely vacant after Expo 86. And then little by little, the space was urbanized. Khouri read a great deal of work by urbanist author Jane Jacobs, using this inspiration to help form her concept of the sculpture.

      “She [Jacobs] always spoke about how densification in a way was the heart of the city,” said Khouri.

      The abstract sculpture of two eyes is meant to watch over the False Creek site, symbolizing safety, watchfulness and community.

      Eyes on the Street is another in a slew of recent public-art installations in Vancouver. Khouri has now created 16 public art pieces for the city.

      Identifying with the community and site for an installation is a very important part of the artistic process for Khouri.

      “It’s important to see who is going to live in it. If there’s going to be families, children, or more adults. Are you in the heart of downtown? Are you in a remote place? All these things come into play and trigger an idea that’s going to go in that direction,” said Khouri.

      While preparing to create the sculpture, Khouri thought about the site and how it may evolve over the next 10 to 20 years. She wanted the piece to exhibit a timeless quality to the people in the community.

      “As an artist you work in your little hole, in your workshop. You’re all alone,” said Khouri. “There’s nobody there to say [whether] it’s good or bad. And then you’re done and you place it and people see it and say ‘wow!’ So it’s only there where I get to see the impact of the piece. And then it’s gone because I move on to something else. But it stays with them. It belongs to them, it’s for them.”

      The fact that Eyes on the Street is a permanent public art installation is special for Khouri, who considers public commissions to be about leaving a legacy.

      “They’re not for a museum for a two or three-week installation and then they go into storage … this is made for the people that are going to live within that site,” said Khouri. “What’s more beautiful than having something that is exhibited in such a way?”

      Concert Properties will unveil Eyes on the Street with a block party on Saturday, July 21, beginning at 11 a.m. in Voda’s Central Courtyard.

       

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