TRURO - It will only take a few hours for Alan Syliboy's' 30-metre-long mural to reach its new home in Vancouver, B.C.
The 12-panel piece, titled People of the Dawn, was packed up and shipped off to the Trout Lake Community Centre, a figure skating venue for the 2010 Olympic Games today by air freight.
"It's a major opportunity and I think it's really important for my career," said Syliboy. "Not just for native people but also for Nova Scotia in general."
The Millbrook-based artist held an open house at Halliday's on Tuesday for the unveiling of his Olympic-bound art.
Probably the largest mural Syliboy has ever done, People of the Dawn is a composite of all of the aboriginal artist's work over the years.
"The first section is sort of land-based with the people and the animals," explained Syliboy, "and the second part is the water because we are people who made their living on water."
The large work of art only took about a month to complete and Syliboy is very pleased with the outcome.
Patricia Sowinski, a fan of Syliboy's work, dropped by the open house on Tuesday for a chance to see the mural before it was sent to British Columbia.
"I heard about it this morning and I came right down," said Sowinski, who lives in Truro. "It just blows your mind."
Sowinski thinks it is wonderful to have a local artist under an international spotlight.
"It's amazing, he should be recognized just like all notable artists should be," she added.
One thing Sowinski enjoys most about Syliboy's work is the energy that it radiates.
"You can almost feel it, the detail is just so wonderful," she said. "I would love to have some of his artwork."
Syliboy is also part of three other Olympic projects. A short animation that will be broadcasted on national television and the Internet, he was one of 10 Atlantic aboriginal artists to create a steel sculpture to be displayed at the foot of Whistler Mountain in British Columbia and was accepted into Coca-Cola's commemorative bottle program for the Games.
jfowler@trurodaily.com
Syliboys mural headed to Olympic venue
- Published on July 29th, 2009
- Published on January 1st, 2010
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Jill Fowler
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Comments
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- Mary
- - January 18th, 2010 at 09:44:53
Congrats Alan Syliboy! I've always enjoyed your work over the years.
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- danielle
- - January 18th, 2010 at 09:37:44
It is so wonderful for the Daily News to cover the even AFTER it happened. The Chronicle Herald did an entire page spread to celebrate and let the province know about the opportunity to view such a spectacular piece of art. Reporting is more than covering what has happened. I hope whomever is in charge of making these sorts of decisions wakes up and tries to make the paper a relevant part of the community. It will sustain the paper as well as the town. EDITOR'S NOTE: The Truro Daily News actually ran a front-page story on all three local artists whose works are being featured at the 2010 Winter Olympics on May 13.
