Since 1975, Linda Covit has created numerous art interventions presented in Canada and abroad. Her artworks address issues of nature, the environment, and peace. Water Garden, integrated with the Water Centre building in Calgary, and Shangri La Stripe Room, at the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas, are among her most recent creations.
Artwork description
On the ground, a spiral resembling that in the game Snakes and Ladders is adorned with hollowed bronze plates on which are reproduced the silhouettes of war toys cast in bronze. The toys have been put into a concrete sarcophagus buried underground – a gesture that is transformed into an opening to peace, symbolized by two metal walls crossing the spiral. Between the two walls, a passage opens, leading to a row of benches at one end and a small Japanese-inspired garden on the other end; each offers a space of tranquillity and intimacy where people can explore their individuality and find serenity.
In 1991 and 1992, some of the toys cast in bronze were replaced with granite plaques on the artist’s initiative.