Float by Brandon Vickerd is one of many public artworks installed across the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Brandon Vickerd, 2023
Bronze
Halifax Commons Aquatic Facility
About the Artwork
In early 2023, artist Brandon Vickerd was awarded the contract for the Halifax Commons Aquatic Facility Public Artwork. 'Float' consists of five replicas of pool flotation devices cast in bronze installed in locations around the Halifax Commons Aquatic Facility. The artwork aims to monumentalize and celebrate shared recreational spaces by highlighting a sense of enjoyment. We have all floated weightless in a public pool, while screaming children splash around us and senior citizens leisurely swim by – 'Float' reminds us of that shared experience, encouraging visitors to pause and reflect on their own relationship to the recreational area.
Photos by Deborah Wong
About the artist
Brandon Vickerd is a sculptor whose site-specific interventions, public performances and object-based sculptures act as a catalyst for critical thought and engagement with the physical world. Purposely diverse, his work straddles the line between high and low culture, acting as a catalyst for critical thought and addressing the failed promise of a modernist future predicated on boundless scientific advancement. Whether through craftsmanship, the creation of spectacle, or humor, the goal of his work is to provoke the viewer into questioning the dominate myth of progress ingrained in Western world views.