Conservators aim to be ‘invisible’ when restoring public art

CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa sees the work done behind the scenes to repair and restore public art when it's damaged by time or vandalism.

Between chilling winters, hot summers and regular wear and tear, it’s no surprise that some of the city’s public art needs a little TLC once in a while.

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“By the nature of public art, they live in the public realm,” said David Turnbull, director of public art with the Edmonton Arts Council (EAC). “We have some of the worst conditions possible for an artwork compared to works in museums.”

The EAC serves as a steward for the city’s public art collection – which consists of over 200 pieces – and works to restore those that have been damaged either by the elements or by people.

While Turnbull often sees vandalism, there is also wear just from touching public art with no ill-intent – particularly with bronzes.

Some pieces can be restored on-site, while others in need of more intensive restoration are taken to the EAC warehouse.

“Lunch Break,” an iconic bronze sculpture of a man taking his lunch break on a bench in Churchill Square, is in the warehouse, waiting for several broken fingers to be reattached.

“He was actually lifted off of the base and thrown onto the ground,” said Turnbull.

The EAC also restored the Talus Dome last year, replacing 30-some of it’s stainless steel orbs.

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Turnbull said the role of a conservator is to be invisible, something conservator Mitra Saeed is doing with her restoration of “A Vision of Hope.”

“A Vision of Hope,” a sculpture done by Michele Mitchell, honours the 14 victims of the École Polytechnique massacre. The piece was severely damaged and broken into a number of pieces.

The cement-concrete sculpture was unveiled in Edmonton in 1999, a decade after the shooting.

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It consists of two women and an intentionally broken steel I-beam, reflecting the engineering background of the victims, and the “lightning-like” shattering of their lives.

In October 2023, EAC removed the sculpture from its site at Mary Burlie Park after it sustained a significant amount of damage.

One of the women’s arms was completely shattered, said Saeed.

Luckily, Saeed’s hand matched the dimensions of the sculpture, and she was able to make a cast of her arm to recreate the detail in Mitchell’s original piece.

“I didn’t want to use my own hand, but the thing is, I’m not a sculptor and I don’t know how to sculpt something and make it close to what we need,” Saeed told CTV News Edmonton. “We found that my hand had the best measurement.”

Saeed said she has felt particularly close with the sculpture, especially after the Women, Life, Freedom movement began in 2023 in Saeed’s home country Iran.

“It reminds me of all the injustice that we have towards women all over the world,” said Saeed. “Because of what happened in Iran, I felt really close to this sculpture and this memorial.”

Although she left her home in the Middle East, Saeed said the sculpture has taught her there will continue to be a fight for women, and that it’s something she carries with her during her conservation projects.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Nahreman Issa