Adjacent to bustling Mount Seymour Parkway, and situated among the gardens of Cedar Springs Parc is a simple art piece that honours an old Haida tradition, the Cedar Bark Hat. Pacific Northwest canoeists have relied upon the centuries-old design of this traditional headgear to provide protection from either the hot sun or our famous, frequent West Coast rains as they paddle the seas.
The Land is a Person (Marianne Nicolson, 2012) - Inspired by cedar and spruce-root hats of the indigenous Pacific Northwest Coast people, this artwork expresses the belief that the land exists as an equivalent being to humanity and as such it should be respected. The horizontal layers of the landscape reveal that the land we live on is an ancient body. Knowledge acquired over time is embedded in the land in the same way it is embedded in the aging human body. The hat celebrates the respect and reverence for aging and agedness that the indigenous people of the coast uphold both for the land and for the person.
Please take time to enjoy the art, snap a few photos, post your comments, and don't forget to tell me what you think of the art piece or the cache. If you are coming to look for this cache by car, please park across the road at Parkgate Shopping Centre. There is no public parking at Cedar Springs!
You are encouraged to wander around and enjoy all facets of this art piece. Please be aware that some areas of the grounds nearby are private. If you arrive late in the day you may be lucky enough to see the art when it is illuminated from the inside. It is breathtaking!
As always have a great Geocache time and I hope you have a chance to visit the other public art locations around the North Shore.