Visitors to the Calgary Zoo are set to encounter a massive art piece beginning at the end of this month.
A giant seven and a half metre (25’) illuminated egg, made of steel tube, aluminum and concrete, will greet transit riders and zoo visitors outside the zoo's main entrance, north of St. George's Island.
The piece, ‘Egg-The Unity of Diversity’ was designed by Brower Hatcher and Marly Rogers of Mid-Ocean Studio in Providence, Rhode Island, which has composed art installations for several organizations and businesses including the ‘Kelowna Bear’ in the Okanagan and ‘SKY’ at the Dallas Love Field Airport.
“The colourful egg-shaped structure which includes modelled representations of both animals and plants is meant to provide an engaging way to encourage zoo visitors to consider the many ways that everything in nature is connected,” explained Laurie Skene, Manager of Communications for the zoo. “We hope that this public art piece will appeal to all of our guests, but in particular to the many thousands of children who visit the zoo each year.”
Calgary’s F & D Scene Changes fabricated the components of the egg and will assemble the piece. The structure is expected to be fully assembled by the end of November, coinciding with the reopening of all sections of the Calgary Zoo.
In 2012, the Calgary Zoo commissioned the sculpture as part of the City of Calgary’s Public Art Policy.
