A Tribute to Indigenous Heritage in Centennial Park
Toronto’s public art scene welcomes a monumental feature wall by Indigenous father-son duo August and Luke Swinson
With hundreds of pieces found throughout the city, it’s fair to say that Toronto has a rather robust public art scene. More than simply bringing beauty to the urban landscape, the colourful murals, monuments and sculptures help foster a strong sense of placemaking while also softening and humanizing our built environment. Soon, one more treasure will be added to the city’s public art portfolio. Situated at Exhibition Place’s Centennial Park, the new feature wall Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, 2024, is designed by father-son duo August Swinson and Luke Swinson, Indigenous artists and members of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation, and celebrates “the cultural and historical significance of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation as Treaty Holders.”
The Swinsons worked with local landscape architecture and urban design firm Studio tla to take their design from concept to realization.
Established artists in their own right—August works in various styles, mixing hand-drawn and digitally generated illustrations; Luke is a visual artist and illustrator—the two have an effortless collaborative approach having worked together on several projects in the past. “Even though our styles are quite different, we understand and complement each other very well,” says Luke. But Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life was perhaps a little different as it utilizes a material neither had worked with before – sheet metal. “This is the first time either of us has worked on something metal, as well as something that is made into a 3D structure at a large scale,” says Luke. “It was challenging to design with this in mind, but we felt that we had a lot of freedom during the process.”
Rendering of Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, 2024.
Inspiration for the piece was manifold: As the feature wall would be situated in a park within the city, the two wanted to “reflect the natural world around Toronto and the greater area, but also to portray how the land had been long before the city was built. A tribute to the history of the land and the current beauty of it.” The multi-layer piece will also tell a story depicted through seven dodems that each represent one of the original Anishinaabe clans – Crane, Loon, Bear, Fish, Marten, Deer and Bird – and the four sacred medicines – tobacco, sage, cedar and sweetgrass. “Many other clans were formed from these [dodems] and there are many stories and meanings behind each one that will differ between communities,” the artists explain. “These sacred medicines are used often by Anishinaabe people with great care and for many purposes, [like] gift offerings, purification, healing and many different types of ceremonies.” When it came to the colour palette, the two again looked to the natural environment, selecting greens and blues to reflect the plants and water in and around Toronto and the weathered brown-orange of untreated Corten steel to complement the overall theme.
Starting with pencil sketches that were converted into digital images through the Procreate app, the Swinsons worked with local landscape architecture and urban design firm Studio tla (who has been working with the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place on a master plan revitalization of Centennial Park since 2021) to take their design from concept to realization. As the primary consultant, Studio tla helped guide the process through eight iterations, transforming the artists’ original work into technical drawings, a 1:1 scale 3D model, rendered images and finally construction drawings. The studio also used virtual reality technology to create an “immersive 3D experience that helped refine the design [and] validated the transformation of the artwork into a built form that aligns with the artists’ design intent and original vision.”
Ontario-based steel fabrication workshop Cobalt Fabrication, a long-time collaborator of Studio tla’s, was tasked with bringing the piece to life, while Moses Structural Engineers provided the structural framing and foundations.
When complete, the feature wall will be composed of three main layers at a scale appropriate to its context and purpose. The tallest, made from perforated Corten steel, will stand some 6 metres in height and hold the primary artwork – the seven depicted dodems will traverse across the entire 50-metre length; the cut-outs will allow the artwork to be visible from both sides in a mirrored expression. In the middle, a six-metre-tall teal blue—powder-coated and punctured steel screen with an undulating profile will spread out horizontally from a towering tree whose roots will flourish along the entire length with other representations of the sacred medicinal vegetation. The foremost layer, powder-coated a lovely sky blue, will be laser-cut with the name of the piece situated in the centre and the narrative expressions that the artists want to convey expanding outwards from it.
Ontario-based steel fabrication workshop Cobalt Fabrication, a long-time collaborator of Studio tla’s, was tasked with bringing the piece to life, while Moses Structural Engineers provided the structural framing and foundations. Custom lighting by Moon-Matz Electrical Engineers ensures the feature wall is accentuated in a way that further cements its beacon status in the public realm. “Serving as an iconic symbol as people drive along the Gardiner Expressway and as a landmark feature within Centennial Park and the Exhibition Place grounds, the feature wall stands proud within the park, giving prominence to the themes and notions it expresses,” says Studio tla.
Scheduled to be revealed in September, Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life, is sure to conjure deeply personal reactions.
“Mino Bimaadiziwin – or Good Life – means something different to so many people and we want everyone to see this and reflect on what that means to them,” say the Swinsons. They continue, “While we want this piece to be enjoyed by everyone, it is very important to us that Indigenous people who see it feel represented and proud. That they will see themselves, their families, values and traditions in this piece and be inspired. The Anishinaabe Language being visually represented is so important to our communities and we want to help make this more of a common sight.”
Mino Bimaadiziwin, Good Life by August Swinson and Luke Swinson was commissioned by the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place under the direction of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
