From unity symbol to vulgarity and back: Art student's Blackfoot installation restored
CBC News | Posted: June 21, 2017 3:41 PM | Last Updated: June 21, 2017
Sarah Russell's 150-rock artwork on coulee near U of L was vandalized, but volunteers helped restore it
A University of Lethbridge student says her faith in people has been restored after someone defaced an art project she created on the side of a coulee.
Sarah Russell spent months painting and placing more than 150 rocks to depict the Blackfoot symbol for unity on the coulee in Indian Battle Park.
"The piece was large enough you could see it across the river from University Hall," the school said in a release.
Sometime in late May, vandals rearranged the rocks to resemble a vulgar image.
Russell appealed for help and on Tuesday, dozens of volunteers came together to restore her piece.
"That's what makes me feel good to be alive today. The community, they gave me a really good gift. They gave me their time and their energy," she told the Calgary Homestretch.
Russell created the piece to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary as part of the school's participation in the national art project, LandMarks2017.
The project consists of 100 works presented in 20 national parks and historic sites from June 10 to 27.
Sixteen universities and 12 prominent Canadian artists created works for the exhibitions.
"The elders really opened up my mind to be positive, so I wanted to create something that was positive out of negative," said Russell, who is from the Kainai-Piikani Blackfoot nation, in a news release.
"I wanted to represent the University, I wanted to represent the Blackfoot people, and I wanted to represent the territory."
- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Glenmore dam pedestrian pathway to close this fall for $82M renovation
- MORE ALBERTA NEWS | Southern Alberta whooping cough cases nearly quintuple in less than 2 weeks
With files from the Calgary Homestretch