Millennial old pebble mosaic art form at Winchester Square Park

About 40 people gathered under a light shower in tiny Winchester Square Park near Cabbagetown on Oct. 24 to watch the unveiling of a pebble mosaic, a form of artwork that dates back more than 1,000 years.

“There are pebble mosaics that are in excess of a thousand years old that are still in good shape. Some of the very old pebble mosaic works are in Japan and China and also in Great Britain,” said Artistic Director Anna Camilleri of Red Dress Productions at the unveiling.

Called Corner Stone, the mosaic is part of a bigger project called Promise in the Park. Two mosaics were unveiled on Oct. 24, the other, called Flight Path, can be seen at the St. James Town Community Corner on Wellesley St.

“What we hope to do is to bring (together) some of the local stories and narratives of folks living in the neighbourhood … to vitalize the park and create a place for social gathering,” said Camilleri.

Community members helped build the mosaics. Some of the themes in the artworks include stories of migrations, lost and founds and past and present.

The artworks are meant to be touched. “This work can be driven on, it can be walked on. You don’t need to step around it,” Camilleri said.

Nov 2015