Dream of the River (2016)

Glen Andersen

13160 No 2 Rd

Area: Steveston
Location: The artwork is located in the park at the foot of No. 2 Road south of the Pier at London Landing.

Materials: Rust-patinated steel, concrete, polystyrene, LED lighting, sealants

Program: Private
Ownership: Civic
Sponsored By: Oris Development Corp.

Description of Work

“Dream of the River” is a sculpture in the form of the ribs of a full size (30’) half-built fishing boat with concrete salmon vertebrae forming the keel. The ribs are structural steel tubes welded to a spinal core hidden inside the vertebrae (themselves under-formed with polystyrene). These ribs also resemble the ribs of an aquatic animal. The concrete is white, patterned with a boney texture and the pipes are rust-patinated steel. The sculpture is perched on a grass berm overlooking the Fraser River contained within a platform that extends out from a pedestrian walkway. Both elements are coated with clear sealers.

Artist Statement

Designed and built to resemble an archaic relic, “Dream of the River” is a surrealist folly, wherein a full-size fishing boat “skeleton” is visually married to a salmon backbone. It conjures the primeval and the not-so-distant industrial pasts of its riverside setting and conflates them into a vision akin to what might have been witnessed by the unseen spirit of the river itself. Much art and history about Steveston valourizes human activities while the ancient mystery of the salmon themselves is underrepresented. Thus salmon vertebrae form the keel. The general site was occupied by boat-builders (Japanese-owned, 1950-1976), fish-packers, and fishermen, whose activities were essentially built on the backs of the salmon migrating upriver. Boat scale and profile are modeled after a 1951 West Coast Trawler of the type built nearby. The half-built vessel also references the fact that many Japanese boat builders had to abandon their projects in 1942 prior to their expulsion/internment. It is meant to be an interactive work, and viewers of all ages are encouraged to climb it, much as one might do upon discovering a gigantic whale skeleton, or an old boat.