Beacons, 2022

Powder-coated 1/4 inch aluminum
Approx. 14 x 14 x 12’

For thousands of years, humans have gathered around sources of light for moments of pause, ritual, and protection; as well as the collective sharing of food, knowledge, and stories. Under the sun’s cycle of rejuvenation, we’ve formed notions of time, rest, and growth. Eventually, the power of light was harnessed to direct us and instill hope. Stars guide us in navigation, lighthouses draw travelers towards their destination, and lanterns shed light on the unfamiliar.

Commissioned for The Bentway’s 2022 Winter Season on the theme of first winters, Beacons consists of five sculptural pillars of light and a constellation of public programs around them. In Zhang’s conversations with newcomer friends and The Bentway community, and in recalling her own experience of moving to Canada, first winters were characterized by the cold and long periods of darkness, but also by the warmth of welcome and communal solidarity. Inspired by these experiences, Zhang’s Beacons is a set of glowing gradient beams scattered throughout The Bentway Skate Trail, drawing audiences’ eyes up the bents and transforming these concrete blocks into mesmerizing and welcoming signals. The colours of the sculptures and projected lights are inspired by the dusk and dawn of the city’s skyline, a reminder of the passage of time, and the warmth of gatherings during the cold winter months. Beacons illuminates The Bentway’s role as a public gathering space that offers audiences a moment of reflection, enchantment, and joy but also reminds us of the ongoing momentum needed to keep our collective light aglow.

Alongside Beacons, the Bentway’s season features a series of public programs including a winter clothing drive for newcomers and refugees, Lunar New Year celebration, world music concert performance, newcomer skate lessons, Indigenous storytelling & knowledge sharing workshop, writing workshop on first winter stories, communal dinner with Newcomer Kitchen, free hot chocolate and the creation of winter care kits for local neighbours.

Installation photo by Samuel Engelking and Shane Parent.

This project was commissioned by the Bentway Conservancy for their 2022 thematic focus on first winters. Fabricated by Urban Art and Metal Works.