Internationally acclaimed artist and architect Paul Raff just unveiled a permanent sculpture at the opening of the Waterfront Toronto Underpass Park on August 2. Suspended overhead of pedestrians, large scale mirror-like surfaces create an illusory appearance, which bends light rays to produce a displaced image much like a mirage. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The mirage is made up of 57 reflective polished stainless steel panels fastened to the underside of the overpass. Art and architecture critic John Bentley Mays describes, “the result a shifting of semi-abstract imagery gathering from earth and sky, from darkness and light, all of it hovering like a shining cloud over the heads of passersby.”
One of Toronto’s most innovative urban parks, Underpass Park, is a two and a half acre mixed-use space tucked beneath the Eastern Avenue ramps. The most extensive park built under an overpass in Canada, was designed by Vancouver-based landscape architects Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg. This new Waterfront Toronto park transforms the West Donlands neighborhood into a socially engaging space with its avant-garde public art, recreational areas, and contemporary green space.
