Stanley Park Environmental Art - Semi-Permanent Works

Shirley Wiebe

John Hemsworth, Peter von Tiesenhausen • Davide Pan, T'Uy'Tanat Cease Wyss • Shirley Wiebe • Tania Willard

Cozy

Click thumbnails for full-size images. Photos: Paul Colangelo.

Artist Statement:
Gardening practices in Stanley Park initially inspired the form of Cozy. Gunnera (giant rhubarb) plants are cut back in the fall, their massive leaves placed over the crowns to protect them through the winter. By spring the leaves wither down to a silvery and paper-thin snugly airtight cover.

Cozy acts as a protective cover for a severed Douglas fir stump that was taken down by severe windstorms in 2006. The laced together maple medallions have been compared to scale or chainmail armour, intended to protect against being cut. The work addresses the importance of mature trees in the forest as it physically and symbolically shelters what remains of this tree. It is a nurturing gesture that acknowledges the care and attention our environment needs in order to continue looking after us. As the cozy covering decays, it will provide habitat in the forest for small mammals and other organisms living in the forest.

Stanley Park is in the heart of the city. In this urban forest one can also sense the sacredness and history that emanates from the land, regardless of human management. Cozy explores the social and physical relationships that take place in the forest and in the city, and how they shape the park. Each medallion has been engraved with the hopes, concerns, joys, and philosophies of many individuals who participated in the project. These contributions add life to a site that is already regenerating with wild flowers.

Just a few of the people who participated in creating Cozy (photos courtesy the artist).

Visit this work located just west off South Creek Path, north of the Rose Garden.
Detailed map of Stanley Park

Read the ecological response provided by Robyn Worcester, Conservation Manager at SPES for Cozy.

As part of our ongoing documentation of this project, photos of the artworks are being taken at different times of the year to capture the changes being brought upon by the works by the flora and fauna of the park, as well as the weather. Click here to view images of Cozy taken over time .