Public Art

Call NOW!

In downtown Springfield, a maple tree sprouts from a payphone, adorned with signage reading “ONLY 1.50°¢” and “Call Now!” urging action within this visual paradox. Close inspection reveals Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” lyrics urging environmental awareness. Springfield acquired this thought-provoking piece for its public art collection in 2023.
Year – 2022
Materials – found objects, metal, plastic, glass, earthworks
Size – 96x36x36” – 244x91x91cm
Location: Springfield, Missouri USA

It Was All a Dream

Echoing a time when public telephones were bridges to distant conversations, the artwork captivates with its familiar form, yet challenges expectations with six unconnected receivers, sparking curiosity. A cryptic inscription on the phone box blends dreams and reality, challenging viewers to reconsider their perceptions.
The short film, “Cannon Variety: A Bright Yellow Dream” reveals the emotional and physical context of the original installation.
Year – 2022
Materials – found objects, acrylic paint, vinyl
Size – 72x24x24” 180x60x60cm
Location – Hamilton ON
Credit – Pink Floyd, Columbia Records

Peace/War

A glowing phone booth casts a soft light on the sidewalk, a familiar ringing beckons you inside, where a voice engages you into a timeless debate, Immanuel Kant’s 18th-century vision of ‘Perpetual Peace’. Historically, public payphones served primarily for outbound communication, symbolising a connection with the outside world, and metaphorically, a beacon of hope where Superman would emerge, representing a symbol of rescue and salvation. The incoming call, a metaphor for a proactive approach to peace, suggests a shift in perspective might be the hero we need today.
Year – 2022
Materials – found objects, vinyl, stage ringer, mp3 player
Size – 96x36x36” – 244x91x91cm
Credit – Immanuel Kant, Library of public domain audio books.

Unexpected Virtue of Waiting

The iconic shape of a vintage payphone triggers a pang of familiar nostalgia from across the room. Up close, the bright red receiver projects like a pistil from a flower of shattered black glass. The ambient sound emanating from the hand set is inaudible from across the room; only when you lean in close or pick up the receiver can you discern the familiar Muzak interrupted long enough to inform you that your call IS important… but that you must still wait.
Year – 2021
Materials – found objects, metal, plastic, glass, mp3 player
Size – 72x24x24” 180x60x60cm
Credit – Stimulus Progression, Muzak
Credit – Oblique Strategies, Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt

Festival Trees

In the heart of winter, “Festival Trees” blooms—a vision born from my Shanghai apprenticeship. This sculpture, with trees swathed in red hemp, transforms the landscape into a magical scene. It’s a nod to Asian horticultural traditions, turning the stark cold into a canvas of good luck and bright tomorrows.
Year – 2003
Materials – red nylon rope
Location – University of Guelph, ON

Remember Me Memorial

Guelph’s planned downtown memorial stands as a beacon of hope and remembrance, celebrating the lives lost to opioids. The limestone circle, embraced by expanding prairie grasses representing each member of our community taken, inspires a collective commitment to overcoming this crisis, uniting friends, families, and the community in support and memory.
Year – 2021
Materials – limestone, earthworks, Big Bluestem grasses
Location – Guelph ON

Pool of Grief

This 350-meter land art installation along the Speed River Trail in Guelph weaves reclaimed wood into a winding path, culminating in the Pool of Grief. The circular space symbolizes nature’s quiet power to absorb sorrow, renewing itself through unbroken cycles of decay and rebirth.
Year – 2024
Materials – branches, logs and sticks
Location – Speed River Trail, Guelph
Coordinates – 43.503203, -80.255008

Central Labyrinth

Seeking to foster a physical, emotional and spiritual sense of interconnectedness with the environment the hillside of this exclusive girl’s school integrates the circle and spiral into a meandering but purposeful journey to the center of this playscape. The labyrinth is encircled by four large posts marking the cardinal directions using the rising and setting of the sun as reference points. The eight smaller posts divide the circle into a large analog clock face.
Year – 2016
Materials – earth, wood, grass
Location – Toronto ON

Listen to Me

In the heart of Toronto’s Graffiti Alley, this sculpture becomes a living canvas for stickering, blending curated art with community contributions. Initially adorned with curated stickers encouraging viewers to partake in its ever-evolving story, its steel hand extends a vintage phone receiver, a silent call to viewers, symbolizing an invitation to add, listen, and evolve the piece’s narrative.
Year – 2022
Materials – found objects, steel, solar lighting
Size – 72x24x24” 180x60x60cm
Location – Graffiti Alley Toronto ON
Photo Credit – @onthestreetart

Truthphone

A reimagined payphone transforms into a canvas of expression, beckoning visitors to share their ‘truths’. Four telephone receivers painted in the bold hues of red, yellow, black, and white, mirror a medicine wheel design that extends ten-meters into its surroundings. Below, a phonebook with blank pages invites contributions, urging “Share anything as long as it is true.” A testament to ‘anonymous collaboration’ evolving through artistic and public interactions into a dynamic mural of poetry and art. “Anonymous Collaboration” a montage of Instagram posts encapsulating the evolving story of public creativity and shared narratives.
Year – 2019
Materials – found objects, solar lighting, plastic, latex paint
72x24x24” 180x60x60cm
Location – McDougall Lane Toronto ON
Credit – Moby, EMI

Public Phone

Amidst the whispers of forgotten conversations, a tree stretches its limbs inside an ancient phone booth, a curious alchemy of nature and obsolete tech mocking our transient inventions with silent growth. Is this nature’s cryptic jest or a profound cosmic riddle, urging us to decipher the delicate dance between technological remnants and the resilient whispers of the earth?
Year – 2021
Materials – found objects, metal, glass, earthworks, planting
Location: Oeno Gallery Sculpture Park, Prince Edward County

Out-of-Time

Inspired by the original “hotline” established between Moscow and Washington in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. This phone cannot be answered, echoing the sense of hopelessness felt by many about our state of environmental crisis. The phrase “Out of Time” is written in white around the phone in languages of the countries most affected by climate change, in red for countries contributing the most to the crisis.
Year – 2020
Materials – found objects, metal, plastic, glass, solar lighting
Size – 72x24x24” 180x60x60cm
Location: Queen and Spadina, Toronto

Crisis Phone

Amid a $1.1 billion Ontario lawsuit over deceptive opioid marketing, “Crisis Phone” stands as a stark symbol of addiction’s dual narratives of despair and recovery, reflecting the deep scars left on communities by an epidemic fueled by corporate strategies.
Year – 2020
Materials – found objects, metal, plastic, glass,
Size – 72x24x24” 180x60x60cm

Spiral Mountain (rock)

This playable landscape perfectly balancing stone and wood elements in a taijitu pattern. A stone tower reflects colonial fortifications in the area, while a timber climbing frame pays homage to the region’s First Nations’ architectural traditions.
Year – 2019
Materials – stone, earth, cedar logs
Location – Queenston Heights ON

Spiral Mountain (wood)

This playable landscape perfectly balancing stone and wood elements in a taijitu pattern. A stone tower reflects colonial fortifications in the area, while a timber climbing frame pays homage to the region’s First Nations’ architectural traditions.
Year – 2019
Materials – stone, earth, cedar logs
Location – Queenston Heights ON

Rubber Circle

Located in Erin, Ontario, an intriguing arrangement of recycled truck tires creates a circular pattern. The orientation of each tire shifts subtly, offering a dynamic exploration of space and form. This seemingly straightforward design opens up a multitude of engagement opportunities, blending art with play.
Year – 2017
Materials – reclaimed tires, sand, cedar log
Location – Erin ON
Coordinates – 43.770892, -80.060719
Credit – Wood Carver: Jim Menken

Cube Town

Imagine a whimsical world where Jane Jacobs meets Piet Mondrian! With playhouses that mix and match in dazzling colors and designs, every day is an adventure. Peek through a window—or hey, why not hop out?—and join the fun in moving houses around, making teamwork the game of the day!
Year – 2018
Materials – shipping pallets, acrylic paint
Location – Toronto ON

Yellow Line

Step into a whimsical world where the ground dances with abstract art and interactive sculptures. A grass maze comes alive as a pattern of bright yellow traffic delineators, and unguided play unfolds into countless opportunities for fantasy and imagination.
Year – 2016
Materials – asphalt paint, traffic delineators, grasses
Location – Guelph ON

The Hero’s Journey

Through the act of play, we transcend mere existence, engaging with the world in a manner that imbues us with autonomy. The metaphorical landscape of the Hero’s Journey—a realm of sand, stone, it’s a call to adventure, echoing our inner song across the spiritual landscape.
Year – 2018
Artist Call – Jardins De Metis International Garden Festival

Bateau Island Stone Circle

Nestled in a remote wilderness, this piled stone circle merges with the untamed landscape, a silent homage to nature’s raw beauty. It stands as a meditative space, inviting solitary reflection amidst the elements, a bridge between the earthly and the sublime, untouched by time’s relentless march. Private commission.
Year – 2022
Materials – Beach boulders
Location – Parry Sound ON