Description
An interpretive panel next to the artwork includes a description in Braille as well as images from the creative process.
Ineke Standish and Lynda Cronin, members of CAAP, were awarded a studio space at the Routhier Community Centre in the late 1990s. They worked with a diverse group of community members, including people who are blind and people who are Deaf. CAAP and the community collected local clay from which two large 'walking clay lengths' were constructed. Through the glass casting process, walking feet were transformed into a tactile translucent replica, via the alchemy of fire and water. The accompanying steel title, Bywash 1832, connects history, community and art in the new millennium, taking its name from the history of Lowertown and the construction of one of the region's landmarks, the Rideau Canal. The 'Bywash' was a utilitarian estuary created from the overflow of the canal that traversed the streets of Rideau, George, York and King Edward, finally emptying into the Rideau River. This body of water serves as a metaphor for the movement of people from a social and commercial perspective and as a repository of historical artifacts.