Designed specifically for the Bow River pathway, "Delta Garden + The City Unseen" uses 12,000 brass survey monuments to create a shimmering river of sediment curling through the delta-shaped garden.
Survey monuments are used to explore the dissonance between manmade methods of mapping the land, the land's natural divisions, and the power of our perceptions to transform any given place. Text on the brass monuments was gathered through The Invisible City Survey, a public survey named after Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (1972). Calgarians were asked two questions: Where are you going? Where do you want to be? Words and phrases from the survey were engraved into the brass monuments, creating an esoteric narrative in the concrete. Over time, the text will wear, and the monuments will tarnish. The most popular routes through the Delta Garden will be polished underfoot.
Survey monuments are used to explore the dissonance between manmade methods of mapping the land, the land's natural divisions, and the power of our perceptions to transform any given place. Text on the brass monuments was gathered through The Invisible City Survey, a public survey named after Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (1972). Calgarians were asked two questions: Where are you going? Where do you want to be? Words and phrases from the survey were engraved into the brass monuments, creating an esoteric narrative in the concrete. Over time, the text will wear, and the monuments will tarnish. The most popular routes through the Delta Garden will be polished underfoot.