Commissioned by the Halifax Waterfront Development Corporation and created in 1988 by Halifax artist
Donna Hiebert, The Wave was intended to involve passers-by and induce them to interact with it. For a period surrounded by a chain link fence, it was felt that the fence was simply not appropriate for this type of sculpture in this location, and it was removed. Eventually young children began to interact a bit too enthusiastically, falling off the wave onto the gravel base below. Sooo... the city removed the gravel and replaced it with a softer foam based material.
Eventually a three year old fell from the top of the wave, requiring a brief trip to hospital, which set off another round of controversy concerning The Wave. The Halifax Chronicle Herald even ran a story on the situation on December 18, 2013, which is reproduced in part below.
Through thick and thin, though, The Wave, a beautiful, organic sculpture of ferrocrete, remains with us, enticing many who pass by to run up its backside and feel like a little kid again, if only for a a few brief seconds.
The Wave has left its mark
HILARY BEAUMONT
Published December 18, 2013 - 5:38pm
To reach the top of the Wave, the iconic 3.6-metre-tall sculpture on the Halifax waterfront, it’s best to have a running start.
Its sandy texture gives grip, but grey-blue paint makes the surface slick. Bare feet help, as does confidence.
Newly installed foam around the base, the same stuff used on playgrounds, allows for a softer landing than its predecessor, gravel.
Gone also is the chain-link fence that once taunted children and teenagers.
But don’t be fooled by the Wave’s accessible position at ground level. The public art project was conceived as approachable, but it never asked to be climbed.
A generation of kids grew up interacting with the Wave, created by Halifax artist Donna Hiebert. This year, the sculpture turned 25. This summer, another generation was getting to know the waterfront fixture when calamity struck.
Ian Palmer was walking along the waterfront with his wife and two children, ages 10 and three, when the younger child kicked off his shoes and bolted toward the Wave past the Do Not Climb sign, scrambling to the top.
At the crest of the Wave, rather than sliding down like the other children, he fell. His scrapes, cuts and bruises were bad enough to warrant a trip to the IWK children’s hospital...
...In 1988, the Waterfront Development Corp. solicited sculpture proposals through a three-stage juried process...
...They asked Hiebert to submit a proposal and selected her to create the Wave. It was an $80,000 commission.
The idea came to her while vacuuming: the shape of a wave facing the mouth of the harbour.
She built a steel frame and defined the shape with mesh.
Then she trowelled ferroconcrete, the same sandy mortar the Sydney Opera House is made of, to cover the frame, giving the sculpture its sandpaper finish.
“I wanted to create a work that was approachable, to take the sculpture off the base so that psychologically, people — the public — wouldn’t be intimidated by it. It wouldn’t be something that was isolated from them.”
Hiebert wanted the tip of the wave to provide shelter and to act as a fountain when it rains. Has anyone conceived under the sculpture, she wonders?
Its position at ground level rather than on a pedestal makes it welcoming. You don’t need to know anything about art to interact with the Wave...
Read more at the Halifax Chronicle Herald