Renowned artist Vik Muniz wants to bring the wolf back to Squamish.
The Brazilian born sculptor and photographer was in town last week working with the Vancouver Biennale group and the Squamish Nation to help create a land mosaic to represent the community. An idea came to him after conversations with Squamish Nation members.
鈥淚 started talking to people at Totem Hall during my screening and they were always talking about animals,鈥� Muniz said. 鈥淭hey talked about the importance of animals and no matter the culture animals are something that everyone can relate to.鈥�
After Muniz settled on animals as the theme to the piece, he talked with local elders and other Squamish residents about the proper animal for the project to highlight.
鈥淚 asked an elder what animal would represent union and working together and he chose a wolf,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e explained they work together and this truly is wolf land.鈥�
Muniz said another reason why he likes the wolf idea is it鈥檚 a more mysterious and elusive animal compared to those more associated with Squamish.
鈥淏eing an outsider to here, the wolf is something I would have never picked to represent Squamish,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淚n my hotel there are brochures about how to deal with bears and cougars 鈥� they鈥檙e almost too familiar. There was nothing to do with wolves. I thought of an eagle, but it鈥檚 more associated with America. In Western stories the wolf kind of has a bad reputation, characters like the Big Bad Wolf or Peter and the Wolf 鈥� it鈥檚 kind of unfair.鈥�
Muniz and his group have also selected a final location for the finished product and Squamish residents will be able to witness the progress first hand at the new Lot 1 municipal park beside the Mamquam Blind Channel. A large tower has been erected and work is expected to be completed on Aug. 8.
There was discussion about the project occurring near the new Sea to Sky Gondola but Muniz said it wouldn鈥檛 have made logistical sense.
鈥淲e originally wanted it to be able to be seen from the lookout at the gondola but the distance was too great and the image would have been too small,鈥� he said.
聽鈥淎nd at that site the process would have been primarily mechanical and the amount of material we would have needed to come up with a drawing would have been massive. We didn鈥檛 want to lose that relationship between the material, the image and the social interaction so the new site will be more ideal.鈥�
It was a busy week for Muniz, as he had a screening of his movie Wasteland in both Squamish and Vancouver and he spent time exploring Squamish and learning more about what locals are passionate about.
鈥淧eople are drawn to the outdoors here,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淚t feels like whenever you鈥檙e inside you鈥檙e missing out on something and just the beauty here is amazing.鈥�
Muniz said the goal of the project is to create interesting art and engage the public.
鈥淎rt doesn鈥檛 translate from mind to matter in a straight line,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淲e often elect artists to make things but we forget that other art forms 鈥� everyone sings together and dances in a group 鈥� and art can be like that too. It鈥檚 a good feeling and allows me to share with my audience the pleasure I have when something is created. Human participation makes a human mosaic and it makes art richer, and gives it more depth.鈥�
Next up for Muniz are exhibitions in Israel, Shanghai and Rio de Janeiro followed by more work in New York. For more information on Muniz and his work, visit www.vikmuniz.net.
Locals wanting to help out on the wolf project can do so by contacting Krisztina Egyed at [email protected]. There will be plenty of work, as artists will be doing their thing from 8 a.m. to midnight every day until Aug. 8.
For more details about the outdoor art exhibit, Vancouver Biennale, visit www.vancouverbiennale.com.聽
