A rendering of “Unfinished Arch” by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, looking south over Lake Ontario (courtesy of Waterfront Ontario)
Canadian artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has been selected to install a new permanent artwork, Unfinished Arch, at Waterfront Toronto, an organization that oversees waterfront revitalization in Toronto.
The nine-metre-tall interactive arch will extend over the southern lawn of Sherbourne Common, a 3.6-acre park in the eastern bayfront area of the waterfront.
Visitors can interact with its floating edge, completing the arc, which will light up until the participant removes their hands from the piece.
“This installation will be the destination piece within the East Bayfront Master Public Art Plan complementing existing art pieces,” according to the news release.
Eventscape will fabricate Unfinished Arch in Toronto. The work is expected to be completed by summer 2025.
“Unfinished Arch alludes to the familiar paraboloid shape found in many mid-century modern arches, and its perplexing, truncated nature gives way to a civic engagement: visitors may wish to ‘complete’ the arch by stretching their arms to ground it,” says Lozano-Hemmer. “The project was designed with accessibility in mind: visitors of all heights can reach the suspended end of the arch, while tactile pavement tiles and a locator tone help guide the visually impaired.”
Born in Mexico City, Lozano-Hemmer now lives in Montreal. He creates “platforms for public participation by using technologies such as robotic lights, digital fountains, computerized surveillance, media walls and telematic networks.”
Source: Waterfront Toronto