Morwy’s Belt

Morwy’s Belt, iron mooring ring, rope, resistance and restraint. Open Actions Performance Collective, 1hr. duration, Reeson Park, Victoria BC, 2013-02-17

Mooring Ring, Reeson Park, south of the Johnson Street Bridge, ships moored here to unload supplies and load natural products wood and furs. There are several mooring rings in the Inner Harbor. “The mooring rings on the rocks below are the only surviving fragment of Fort Victoria built by the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843.” (Text from Canadian government plaque)

This experiential sculpture acknowledges a relationship with land. I acknowledge the territory of Coast Salish People of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations and for their gracious hospitality. It is an honor and a pleasure to work within their traditional territory.

Mowry’s Belt also acknowledges one of my teachers, Mowry Baden; from his teachings I learned about sense-memory, wearable sculpture, self-consciousness and decentering vision.

Mowry Baden Seat Belt With Block, 1969, 365cm dia x height of viewer, steel, nylon, concrete, Collection Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver BC