Thursday, 4 August 2016

The Jade Canoe

Prominently displayed on the International Departures level of Vancouver International Airport is Bill Reid's Jade Canoe. This striking sculpture is positioned on a highly polished marble floor, giving the illusion that the canoe and its occupants are silently gliding past you. The overloaded boat, with thirteen mythological Haida figures, appears to be heading in an unknown direction.

The original sculpture, the Black Canoe is on display at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. Vancouver International Airport commissioned a twin, with a green patina, to evoke the dark emerald green jade found in British Columbia. The Jade Canoe was completed and installed in 1994.

Bill Reid's legacies include the fusion of traditional Northwest Coast indigenous art with modern ideas and forms of expression.

Vancouver Airport now ranks number eleven in the world and as the top airport the Americas, now seven years in a row.

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