South of Queen St, on the Don River, at a spot you can't see easily from the street, but easily from the bike path, floats a 25 foot model of a cruise ship with the name "Nowhere 2."
From where I was walking on the bike path the boat came as a surprise even though I was looking for it. In this part of the Don River trail, any "surprise" that doesn't involve gruesome garbage or things that look like crime scene remains usually evokes an internal sigh of relief. Nonetheless, this artwork was a really nice surprise... it ranked right up there with seeing a pair of swans a few minutes before. The swans reminded me that the river can still sustain wildlife and the boat . . . well , firstly it looks cool. The art group BGL that conceived it wisely made it black, so it seems to be almost one with the river (yep, the black river...hmmm). Secondly, while the Don IS kind of "nowhere" these days (certainly, the swans notwithstanding, it has lost its destination as an ideal spot to observe nature) it perhaps can continue to be a spot of contemplation. And not just the "what am I doing with my life" kind, but also the "what are we doing to the city and its natural environments?" kind of contemplation.
On a decommissioned bridge above the boat hangs a second piece by BGL, a hugely oversized life preserver with the words "Don River" on it. While I applaud the '"Save the Don" message of the piece, its aesthetic leaves me cold. It's a bit like looking at a huge McDonalds sign hung in a forest, albeit a kinda dirty forest next to a freeway.... But maybe that's the point, to create such an aesthetic clash and strong visual statement that you are made to look, and think, twice.
BGL's project on the Don River shows until June 29th.
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