Commissions
Presence in Absence
Ruth Abernethy's sculptures for
Highway of
Heroes Trees for Life Campaign
2022
Bronze
Highway of Heroes was a commission to create 2 identical castings
commemorating service men and women in the Canadian Armed Forces.
This commission was part of the 10-year Trees for Life campaign to plant
trees along the HoH corridor from Kipling Ave to Trento.
Tree count to date is 2.4 million!
Sixty seven profile portraits were arranged on a styrene column.
The face outlines were cut away and the remaining structures were carved into foliage.
The surface of the cylindrical form was waxed.
The item was molded, and reproduced twice in bronze.
Fabric covers were suspended inside the sculpture over a steel frame.
The finished sculptures were set in place over a light fixture at grade.
Voila! The sweetest giant night-lights in the world!!
For more details, see this article linked here: Presence in Absence
Mark Cullen leads the Trees for Life Campaign, undertaking reforestation of the Highway of Heroes corridor. From Kipling Avenue in Toronto to the Canadian Armed Forces base in Trenton ON, Mark and his teams have planted 2.5 million trees.
