Thunder Bay, Ont., has recently completed the installation of Esox (Ginoozheg) by Halifax-based artist Simon Lacey in the Mall Street Plaza as part of the North Core Streetscape Project.
The public artwork, which translates to ‘pike’ (esox in Latin and ginoozheg in Ojibway), is located between Red River Road and Park Street.
“It was a big project in the end. But I mean, I thought it turned out awesome. So I’m pretty excited about how it looks,” said Lacey, who also runs Ballast Design Studios.
“I’m sad to leave it in Thunder Bay, [but] when I was there, I tried walking past it as much as I could because it’s the first time I’d seen the full thing in a row and sort of laid out like that.”
While installing the artwork’s sculptures was a straightforward process, it took several months for Lacey to develop the proposal, prepare production and cut files, linear-weld them using almost 200 pounds of wire and finally transport them to Thunder Bay in box trucks.
The public artwork draws inspiration from the Kaministiquia River.
“The pavers are supposed to sort of look like a sweeping river… I wanted to incorporate that motion of the river, sort of the style of the river,” Lacey said, adding that the street was an interesting space, as it was long and fairly narrow.
Lacey also liked the profile of northern pike, he said.
“The concept of the sculpture — sort of the design of it — was just designed after the pike in the river,” Lacey said.
If people go walking through rivers or fishing, fish are often sort of dark and obscured as they’re swimming underwater, Lacey explained, noting how he liked that ambiguous motion of the fish.
When a fish turns side up to the river, it’ll also flash in the sunlight, Lacey continued.
Capture the ‘duality of visual scapes’
“It’s all these baffles in the steel sculptures… they’ll sort of move independently and look a little ambiguous, but then when you look at the side profile, I’ve incorporated the strip along that to reflect that turning into the sun,” Lacey said.
Ultimately, he said, he wanted his art to be “awesome” and for people to go downtown and see these sculptures, then get excited about art and nature.
One of the five fish sculptures in the north core. (Nicky Shaw/CBC)Second of three public artworks
Two other proposals were also selected for Thunder Bay’s north core streetscape by a jury composed of Public Art Committee members, community representatives and arts professionals following a national Open Call to Artists in 2024.
“Thunder Bay Particles – Medicine Wheel was actually installed before the winter last year. That was a piece by artist Scott Eunson and Shelby Gagnon,” said Laurie Abthorpe, the city’s supervisor of cultural development, community programming and events.
It is located in the St. Paul Street to Cumberland Street Plaza.
“The third and final installation is titled All Together by boyRoland and we expect that to be installed later this year — and that is up by the Court Street Plaza area,” she said.
LISTEN | Caitlyn McMillan: North Core Art Installation:
Superior Morning7:11Caitlyn McMillan: North Core Art Installation
Thunder Bay will be unveiling three new public art pieces as part of its North Core revitalization. Hear how the art pieces were chosen and what they mean for the community.
$500,000 was allocated for the public art installations, with funding support from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation’s Community Enhancement Program.
“Artworks like these preserve and showcase culture and heritage identity for our community. They foster social connectivity and public art is accessible,” Abthorpe said.
“Everyone has access … encouraging inclusion and there’s also some great economic impact. They do attract visitors to our areas and public art transforms spaces into a destination for community members and visitors to our city.”
Public art pieces impact city growth
Abthorpe said city-wide beautification, north core revitalization and recreation and tourism attractions are also key points of the city’s Smart Growth Action Plan.
“[These pieces] do have great results for creating community and a feeling of inclusion,” Abthorpe said.
It would be well worthwhile to head down to the area, she said.
“Taking this piece in the scope and space that it’s in is really something to behold and I think they’re really quite wonderful,” Abthorpe said.