A Sculpture to Celebrate, Remember, and Honour

the women and men who have been injured or died while at work in and around the city of Saint John. This sculpture will be located beside the W. Franklin Hatheway Labour Exhibit Center, which is an amazing environment for this piece. Having the essentials of the natural surroundings, along with a sense of reflection we feel when near water, this space will create an environment of contemplation as well as a place to reflect and heal.

As you approach the sculpture from the road, walking towards the lake, you will see, crouching under the low end of the I-beam, the shadowy figure of a woman, which is the pivoting point of the sculpture giving it grounding and support. She joins with a second ghostly figure bent with the strain of raising the beam. These two figures represent workers who have been lost in the past. The third figure is stretching to add her support to the cause. She is a figure in transition, stepping with confidence through memory into the present. By placing her on the crate in a precarious position, our intention is to make the viewer more aware of the importance of safe work practices. The fourth figure brings us sharply into focus. This figure is pushing boundaries, achieving things beyond his reach, supporting and adding his energy to the group.

Our larger than life sculpture shows people working together in order to lift a beam into place. There is excitement and a sense of pride that is felt by a task accomplished together. There is tension, an unspoken tension that comes from doing your best to support your accepted part of the task, while not wanting to let others down. Realizing your personal boundaries you work together to accomplish the job at hand. Although facing the possibility of injury, they look beyond themselves, spurred by the vision of a city worthy of its inhabitants. Throughout history, we have pressed boundaries to achieve and expand our environments both physically and mentally.

The raised beam, uplifted by the workers, is the arm of the sundial. The sundial marks the passage of time, which lessens the impact of tragedy and injury and allows for acceptance. The morning and afternoon hours are marked on the brick plaza with different coloured bricks. The two vertical faces of the beam feature the motto of the memorial in both official languages intertwined with images of people who have been injured or lost at work. There are many kinds of injuries incurred in the work place; some of them are physical and some are emotional. The images carved in the beam reflect the ALL. The end of the beam and the pointer of the sundial is a stylized canary inspired by the memorial logo. Within the caged breast of the bird, a light is located. At night, this light would serve as a beacon and cast interesting patterns on the surrounding area. The sundial is oriented to be accurate at noon on April 28, the day chosen to honour people who have been injured or killed at work, “Day of Mourning.”

At the point where the beam is anchored to the ground, a stylized rippled brick patio spreads in concentric circles, echoing a disturbance on the lake surface, which also reminds us that the greatest effect is at the point of impact. This loss or injury is felt most immediately by the person and family. As the ripple moves outward, the effect lessens until it becomes calm. This feature echoes and suggests the healing that happens with the passage of time.

The ensemble becomes a worthy symbol of our heritage; a community effort of labour and sacrifice built on the achievement of those who have gone before us. We look forward to working with the committee and industry professionals as we all direct our energies to bring this monument to completion.

This sculpture shown here  in its clay state is a combined effort between artist, Darren Byers & Fred Harrison.  The sculpture cast in bronze at Kalispell Art Casting was  unveiled on April 28th 2011 in Saint John New Brunswick at the Lilly Lake pavilion, to a crowd of over 400 people. It was an emotional day as many families and friends laid wreathes to remember those who have been killed while at work. Below are a few photos taken that day. One is with the committee that worked tirelessly to see this through and they were an amazing group of people to work with.

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John Peter Humphrey was a man committed to human rights and the condition of mankind. He rose to great heights in his life’s work but never lost the sense of himself as part of the society he lived in.

In the sculpture the older man contemplates the draught of his document quietly; beside him kneels the small figure of himself at the age of seven. At this time he lived in Hampton and all through his life remembered it fondly, even choosing to be buried here.
The semi circular ash benches that the carved figure sits on symbolize the United Nations. To invoke the essence of the Declaration as a lasting monument for all peoples, we chose two large sandstone monoliths. Upright and powerful they stand for strength and longevity. One is carved with some of the articles of the Declaration and the other is a fountain, its water symbolizing the movement of time and creating a sense of quiet and peace John Peters Humphrey believed that “there is a fundamental connection between human rights and peace. We will have peace on earth when everyone’s rights are respected.”

You can learn more about John Peters Humphrey at this website    www.humphreyhampton.org/projects.php

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One of the highlights in my sculpting career, has been the opportunity to work with John and Kathy Hooper. This sculpture was the first time that we worked together.

This large sculpture was for the Pilgrim School in Los Angeles.

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Beyond Words

Darren Byers’ Artist Statement for “View through the broken pain”
Words have never quite worked for me as a means of expression, instead it has been wood carving. The carving becomes a communication between me and the wood as I am seduced by the feeling that, maybe this time, I will be able to express the conversation clearly. These are the words not spoken; truly “Beyond Words”. So it is difficult to write about my ‘book’ which reflects my emotional journey through life; a journey which, like everyone else’s personal journey, changes direction with each choice I make.
The wood chosen for this piece is a combination of ash and butternut. The ash used for the outside cover is strong, pliable, rich in grain and emotion, and reflects our traditional past. The butternut I chose for the interior of the book shows both warmth and beauty, while evoking feelings of love. I found myself engaged in the grain and shape of the wood, expressing with every cut the emotions I felt. Please read the emotions from the wood, feel the words through touch, and listen to what it says as you explore the story for yourself. My journey is primarily a search, to discover a life of love.
I travel with many guides and teachers, some of whom are my closest friends. To them, I would like to say thanks for their guidance, patience, direction and love. To God, who is teaching me about unconditional love, thank you for the courage to share my journey with others.

A travelling exhibition of hand made “books” – Beyond Words, is the work of nineteen celebrated regional artists: Jim Boyd, Linda Brine, Darren Byers, Brigitte Clavette, George Fry, Toby Graser, Fred Harrison, Susan Vida Judah, Suzanne Hill, Kathy Hooper, Sue Hooper, Elma McKay, Andrea Meeson, Brian Meeson, Alison Murphy, John Murphy, Peter Powning, Karen Shackleton, Peter Thomas, which will travel to Fredericton, Moncton and Halifax over the next few months.

The exhibition Beyond words is a challenge to conventionality. Verbal language has powerful links to our conscious and subconscious selves, and as such may function as a means of manipulation and constraint, imposed on us by others, or springing from ourselves as a means of self-justification. Too often words inhibit the primal response, the genuine impulses we experience before we crush our feelings into constructed language. Thom Gunn refers to “the dark before of truth”. Love, instinctive kindness, deep fears are not created because we articulate them, but rather arise in a current of emotional honesty. All the works in this exhibit explore the concept of ‘book’ from that deep current which exists within us and which defies the constraints of ‘word’.

Our deepest and truest response is not linguistic, it is sentient, direct; it is, ultimately, wordless.

Pip Murphy

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