The Remington Group unveiled World Stage: Canada, a monumental interactive digital artwork by UK artist Dominic Harris, that transforms the Canadian flag into a living system of hand-painted butterflies.
Suspended in a virtual holographic space on the exterior of the future entrance to the Remington Contemporary Art Gallery at Gallery Square, the work measures 8 x 7 metres (26 x 23 feet). The LED video wall features butterflies, which are programmed to form patterns but also respond to human activity – movement and touch – flying, scattering and regrouping in response to the movements of passers-by in The Remington Group’s flagship 243-acre master-planned development, Downtown Markham.
“My art lives and breathes through the interaction of its audience,” says Harris. “It’s a symbiotic relationship where the art responds to the viewer, and the viewer, in turn, becomes an integral collaborator within the art.”
Art is an integral component to the Downtown Markham community, with free installations integrated throughout. World Stage is the latest major installation in the $30-million Remington Contemporary Art Collection, which also includes The Pride of Canada Carousel, a kinetic art piece with rideable Canadian-themed sculptures made from repurposed and recycled materials by artist Patrick Amiot.
Commissioned by The Remington Group, World Stage: Canada was specifically chosen for Markham, a city shaped by diversity, technology, and transformation.
“Just as the Pride of Canada Carousel was created to reflect the values of sustainability which are central to our Downtown Markham project, Dominic Harris’s piece not only reflects messages of nature and sustainability, but also technology, which is such an important part of Markham as an innovation hub,” says Christopher Bratty, President of Land Development and Acquisition for The Remington Group.
The Remington Contemporary Gallery, which is currently under construction, will feature more of Harris’s work in the form of an immersive art experience from Dominic Harris revolving around similar themes, using technology to construct highly personal interpretations of the natural phenomena that surround us.