mem-o-mobilia

Thirty-six colour panels are adapted from advertising, news items and commercial products that affected people living in the Billings Bridge area during the 19th and 20th centuries. The title of the artwork is a play on the word memorabilia, meaning souvenirs of memorable events or periods. The panels are grouped into eras: 12 images refer to 1814, the year the Billings family settled along the Rideau River. Central panels refer to 1867, the year of Confederation. By 1900, the population of Billings Bridge had grown to 200. Panels on the north wall feature these images.

Wheels above each panel reference the trains and streetcars that once moved though parts of Ottawa. Although the panels do not move, the wheels suggest change and motion.