Canada

Gatineau (near Ottawa): MosaïCanada 150

Joanna October 9, 2017 14 11

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Hello my dear blog readers. I would like to invite you to visit Ottawa with me one more time. This time we will see an amazing event that was organized to celebrate Canada’s 150 anniversary. But first, I would like to introduce MY GRANDDAUGHTER ERIKA, who was born in Ottawa on October 2.

Here she is with her parents and both grand-mothers:

Now let’s explore the amazing event I mentioned before. It is called MosaïCanada 150 – Gatineau 2017

It is a  tribute to Canada’s 150 years of history and its founding peoples, organized by the Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montreal.

Mosaïculture is a horticultural art that can be found in many cultures. It makes use of plants in creating two or three-dimensional images. Jacques Cartier Parc in Gatineau, along the Ottawa River is a perfect site for this exhibition. This site reminds us that Canada-that great village, or “Kanata” in the Huron language-was inhabited for thousands of years before the Confederation. To discover the characters, events, art forms, and cultures that have shaped our country, visitors stroll across the Canadian territory, with a brief detour in China.

You enter the park through a train station. The first thing you see is a train in the field of mini-sunflowers, and, of course, Ann of Green Gables waiting at the station.

The theme of travel appeared to be a natural fit for this special exhibition with sub-themes such as a journey across Canada, a journey through time, a passage through the imaginary of the First Nations and of course a short excursion to China.

When visiting this exhibition you visit all provinces and territories of Canada.

Red Foxes, Prince Edward Island:

The Lobster Fisherman, Nova Scotia:

The Canadian Horse, New Brunswick:

Three Ships from France…., Quebec

Between the years 1480 and 1550, the European powers scoured the world seeking riches and a new route to Asia. It was then that Jacques Cartier made his three voyages to North America in the name of France’s King Francis I. He entered the St. Lawrence river and sailed up to the site of present-day Quebec City.

Chief of the Undersea World, Bill Reid’s KILLER WHALE, British Columbia

This is a mosaiculture recreation of artist Bill Reid’s Chief of the Undersea World. The original sculpture of the killer whale can be seen at the entrance to the Vancouver Aquarium.

Now it is time for our short trip to China. The cities of Shanghai and Beijing, whose expertise in mosaiculture is world-renowned, wanted to join the 150th anniversary celebration of Confederation to show their friendship with Canada. The two works, focused on the celebration of the feast, aim at wishing fortune, happiness and prosperity to the Canadian people. Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montreal has been collaborating with these two cities fro more than 15 years.

Blessing of the Food Omen Dragons, Beijing, China:

Joyful Celebration of the Nine Lions, Shanghai, China:

And now, we are back in Canada.

The Polar Bear, Manitoba + The Story of the Northern Lights, the Call of the Wolf:

The Puffins, Newfoundland and Labrador:

The Muskoxen, Northwest Territories

Muskoxen crossed the Bering Strait into North America 90,000 years ago, but populations almost disappeared from the continent in the 1800s. Thanks to protection measures and reintroduction programs, populations have mostly recovered and today there are over 100,000 muskoxen roaming the mainland tundra and Arctic Islands of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

The Prospector, Yukon

The Klondike Gold Rush began in August 1896 with the discovery of gold on a tributary of the Klondike River. From every corner of the globe, but mostly from the United States and Canada, some 30,000 to 40,000 fortune hunters made it to the Klondike. Only one tenth struck gold. Access was difficult and many lost their lives on the way.

The Drum Dancer, Nunavut:

Jos Montferrand, a Giant from Gatineau:

Jos Montferrand is a legendary figure of the old fur-trade and lumbering days. Voyageur, lumberjack, log driver, steersman of timber rafts, foreman – he did it all.

The Voyageur

Wisakedjak and the creation of the world

This section of the exhibition is part of the Journey through the Imaginary of the First Nations. This sculpture shows the Anishinabeg’s vision of the creation of the world. The creator’s son, Wisakedjak, took the earth, placed it on the turtle’s back, and that is how the world, as we know it, was created.

Carrying the world and humankind  on its back, the turtle is a symbol of life everlasting, wisdom and perseverance.

Born with the Sun

The canoe represents a new world, full of hopes and dreams to carry forth to the four corners of the world.

” We are part of the Earth and it is part of us.(…) Preserve the memory of this Earth as we deliver it. And with all your strength, your spirit and your heart, preserve it for your children and love it as God loves us all.” Chief Seattle

Mother Earth, the Legend of Aataentsic

The centrepiece of MosaïCanada 150 – Gatineau 2017 is Mother Earth who springs from the soil, surrounded by animals. She is celebrated by North and South America’s First Nations. She is the root of everything-living beings, vegetables, minerals-and bears witness to the interdependence of man and nature so ubiquitous for our First Nations.

She is also the source of water:

On the Trail of the Algonquin People:

What an amazing event! People are signing petitions asking for this exhibition to be back in 2018. Maybe!?!

I am happy I had a chance to see it this Thanksgiving weekend, and I am also thrilled to be a grand-mother now:

Source: the official book, MosaïCanada 150 – Gatineau 2017