New sculpture greets visitors to UWindsor campus

The designer of a new piece of public art on the University of Windsor campus says she hopes the metal sculpture of a turtle resting in a human hand will help people recognize the connections between nature and all living beings.

Teresa Altiman of Walpole Island First Nation is the artist behind the 2.6-metretallsculpture, which greets students, staff and visitors north of Lambton Tower just off Turtle Island Walk.

"I'm hoping that they just see the hand and the turtle and that there is a connection between us as human beings and the animal world," Altiman told CBC, "that that turtle is part of the earth. We're all part of the Earth. We're all connected."

The university installed the sculpture on Sept. 6 and will host a ceremony and flag raising there on Sept. 30 forthe National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

That's when Altiman will see the finished product face to face for the first time, she said.

"I think I'm just going to be overwhelmed," said the artist, who previously designed art for the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

"I think I know it's going tobe beautiful."

Altiman has already seen a photo, and it was spectacular, she added.

Sculptor Zeke Moores, a sessional instructor in the School of Creative Arts, was the person who turned Altiman's design into a three-dimensional work of art.

His job was to produce the sculpture in accordance with her vision for it, he explained.

Though he typically spends most of his time creating his own art, he'll occasionally help realize someone else's vision if he's interested in and excited about a project and has a connection with the person doing it, he added.

"Teresa is a really good person, and to meet her, you kind of can't really say no," he said.

Moores learned a lot about Truth and Reconciliation from making the project, he added.

"You know, you start really digging into it," he said.

"And then there was things like, 'What do the four colours mean?'" and then you do a little research about it."

Mooressaid he's looking forward to seeing Altiman's reaction to the sculpture when she sees on Sept. 30.

"Hopefully she's very happy with it," he said.