THUNDER BAY -- The waterfront business area has a new landmark.
People travelling in the north downtown core throughout Saturday saw work being done on a rock sculpture at the pedestrian crosswalk on Red River Road between Court Street and Cumberland Street.
Artist John David Hart spent much of the day carving and shaping the 4,000 pound stone, with it expected to be completed either that evening or early Sunday.
The sculpture features intricate carvings that pay homage to Ojibway history and influences.
“It represents the area,” Hart said of his work of art. “There is a lot of Aboriginal heritage in the area so it really makes sense to have it where it is.”
The stone was donated by the Auralite Mine with the project approved by the Waterfront District Business Improvement Area, as they wanted something to prevent people from parking on the southern sidewalk.
The project is being called Community Too and mine owner Howard Pilsmkaer credited Hart for his work, which was progressing along quite quickly.
“From this morning to now it’s grown to something on its own,” Pilsmaker said. “I attribute John as bringing out the spirit of the stone.”
Hart, a Canadian artist that has become renowned along the world, through the carvings creates themes of empowerment, animals and the environment to converge on the overall focus of community.
The connectivity and how all the elements of the work play on one another has become his hallmark.
“You want your composition to flow and lead the eye,” he said.
“My style has become very deceiving. You see a bunch of lines and then go hang on, there’s a bird and the bird is made of fish.”
The sculpture is expectedly to be completely concluded by mid-Sunday after all the carving is completed and the stone is cleaned and finished. It will be permanently stationed along Red River Road.
Hart said he would like to explore the idea of creating more sculptures and having them located directly along the waterfront.
