I first read about the statue in the bay in the Oak Bay News. That a statue has been commissioned to occupy a rock outcropping near Haynes Park, or a rock island between Haynes Park and Queens Park.
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The first choice is where people often sit, on the rocks, soaking in the sounds and smells of the bay. River otters run over these rocks, and birds wade in the shallow waters. The second is a spot where oyster catchers, yellowlegs, mergansers, turnstones and a myriad other birds congregate. It is where a heron will often perch, looking into the water for a bit of supper. It’s where, when the tide is high, a seal will nurse its youngster.
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I have no argument with public art. I thoroughly enjoy Fred Dobbs’ “Ocean in Motion” at the edge of Haynes Park. But to install any statue that might interfere with life at the water’s edge, and our unimpeded view of that, disturbs me greatly. It would feel like a loss.
Robert Harwood
Oak Bay
