Public Art Registry
Charms
Photo: Rachel Topham Photography
Charms by Vanessa Brown - photo by Rachel Topham Photography
Charms by Vanessa Brown - photo by Rachel Topham Photography
Charms by Vanessa Brown - photo by Rachel Topham Photography
Charms by Vanessa Brown - photo by Rachel Topham Photography
Charms by Vanessa Brown - photo by Rachel Topham Photography
2395 - 2443 Kingsway
The Windsor
The artwork is a series of 5 leaning posts attached to the buildings fronting Kingsway as well within the pedestrian breezeway between the two buildings.
Private development
2021
Galvanized Steel, Stainless Steel, Paint
Sculpture
In place
Privately owned
City of Vancouver Private Development Program
Description of work

Charms is a series of 5 leaning posts placed throughout the breezeway and the front of The Windsor. Each post holds several charms. The work draws conceptually and visually from the idea of charm bracelets unfurled, stretched, and standing. The imagery in Charms includes global systems such as the sun, water, rain, and clouds, and combines them with symbols that are personal such as books, fishhooks, pearls, and tools. Each piece in this series hints at a narrative, the way that our personal items remind us of our own stories. In a way, they indicate that shared systems such as housing soon become personal spaces, which reflect the lives that inhabit them.

Charms was commissioned by Imani Development as part of their participation in the City of Vancouver's Public Art Program for Private Development.  

Artist statement

I chose charm bracelets as a starting point for this project for their very old history and their ability to integrate universal symbols with deeply personal ones. The first charm bracelets were worn by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and Hittites beginning from 600 BCE. Charm bracelets have seen resurgences over time in various cultures. Now often received as heirlooms, charm bracelets, unlike other forms of property, tend to be passed matrilineally over generations. As they are passed from an older set of hands to a younger one, with it are the rare personal histories embedded in each item. They are tokens of important moments and memories. Whether it is celebration, heartache, or a point of discovery, we carry these histories close on our bodies. Charms, as a proposal, repeats the gesture, holding close to the body of the building.

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