Public Commissions

Strata

Cinema Tower, 21 Widmer St., Toronto, Ontario
Fall 2013

60′ w x 18′ h x 14′ deep
Pigmented and stained precast concrete, cast bronze and glass. LED lighting.

Strata is meant to evoke a sense of geological time that puts the human era in perspective. The concept is an imagined core sample of the geology below the building drawn up from the depths. The precast concrete is sculpted and stained as a vivid, dreamlike, possibly surreal vision of stone. The bronze relief represents what I’m calling “the human era” as an “archaeological crust” devised from artifacts mainly found on the site. The three bronze strata loosely represent pre-European history, the post-contact / modern era, and possibly a post-human era or at least a future in which our footprint is very light. The glass represents aquifers. The building is Cinema Tower and associates itself with TIFF. There is a theatrical movie-set quality that informs the concept as well.

News Items: 

“Strata” Entrance Installed at Cinema Tower

Peter Powning’s STRATA makes its mark on Daniels’ Cinema Tower — Watch on YouTube