Chez Nous

Dorsey James
21 July, 2003

The title of this sculpture is "Chez Nous". It is carved from a used, cedar Hydro pole.

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Place for Art / Art for Place Creating Place Art in Places Louder than Words Chez Nous Kijimba Person, Art & Place	off-site Links   The Guild Inn These links open in a new window Letters

As it is Kijimba Kind, it is comprised of ten characters consisting of: The Owl, The Eagle, The Crane, Four Humans, The Maple Leaf, The Trillium and The Honey Bee. Each of these characters represents some aspect of the spiritual and/or physical components that help to make Ontario what it is today.

		The Owl symbolizes the intellectual prowess and educational growth that is manifest in Ontario.
		The Eagle symbolizes the courage and determination required to conceive of and implement new financial strategies, ideologies and technologies on a world-class level.
		The Crane, the bringer of our offspring, symbolizes the heartfelt care and concern that we extend to family and to our youth. These three symbols could, just as easily, have been represented by: The Scarecrow, The Lion and The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, each seeking their own notion or perception of educational growth, steadfast courage and heartfelt devotion.
		The four Humans symbolize the four races; Black, White, Red and Yellow. This reflects the multicultural diversity of this province and at the same time honours both sexes through alternation. These four, also, represent the four age groups, the passage of time and the seasons i.e. child / spring, teen / summer, middle age / fall and elderly /winter.
		The Maple Leaf symbolizes Canada (French and English)
		The Trillium Flower symbolizes Ontario
		The Honey Bee is representative of our historically strong and proper work ethic. The Bee is hidden here so as to remind us that we must constantly seek it out and encourage its continuance as it is inextricably linked to the strength, character and continued success of our Ontario as well as the future of our Canada. It is hidden behind the elderly person because that is where I believe we are to find much knowledge and wisdom that we must as a nation remember to harvest.