SYDNEY — Artist Susie Oram-Aylward loves dad jokes and Jordan Strong is an outdoor enthusiast and avid fisherman. So, when the couple turned their yard into a special art installation, they naturally came up with “We Will Bear Through This Together” — a glowing polar bear lounging on a bench while casting for plastic fish that are dangling from tree branches.
“We just wanted to give people a little something to smile at these days when it’s been pretty dark,” Oram-Aylward said of the display they light up each night weather allows at their home on the corner of Cottage Road and Woodill Street in south end Sydney.
“Both of us really love puns and we wanted to find a way to offer a slogan of support while also adding a dad joke in it.”
Jordan Strong, left, and Susie Oram-Aylward hold the sign for the “We Will Bear Through This Together” nighttime art installation they erected in the yard of their south end Sydney home as their dog Smudge sits nearby. Chris Connors/Cape Breton Post
Strong said the installation is made up entirely of things they found around the house.
The bear is made of clear plastic water bottles and chicken wire they used for the beans in their garden last year. The fish are blue bottles they had collected from people around neighbourhood before the pandemic, the waves are fashioned from marine debris, and the sign with the message “We Will Bear Through This Together” is an old painting they repurposed and adorned with cardboard flowers. And it’s all lit up by strings of LED lights Oram-Aylward had used in past projects.
It’s all part of a nationwide art initiative by Sustainable Thinking and Expression on Public Space, or STEPS, a charitable group that is responsible for some of the biggest murals and community-led art projects in public spaces in Canada. Oram-Aylward and Strong were one of six groups chosen from across the country to turn their house into an art installation as a way to bring artists and communities together during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While some of the other projects included theatre and modern dance performances, Oram-Aylward said they decided a nighttime display would give people an excuse to go for a walk and maybe chat with their neighbours.
“We just thought having a light-up installation here would be a way to encourage people to walk around our neighbourhood,” she said.
“It was really fun to do. I really love the idea of having any sort of installation and I like seeing people walk by and smile. I like seeing cars stopping and taking pictures of it. One of the saddest things I’ve noticed throughout this pandemic is in a community that is as tight-knit as ours, all of a sudden we’re not making eye contact when we walk by each other. There’s this level of fear. I really hope that through art installations such as this we can kind of break the ice and get back to some level of normalcy in terms of remembering to be human to one another.”
Strong said he enjoyed working on a project that could cheer some people up at a time when many are feeling stressed out.
“Everything has been so hard lately with the virus — there’s so much going on right now — so it was nice to be able to build a project that people could see and it might bring a smile to their face. Even though things are tough, sometimes the difference between a good day and a bad day is just having something to laugh at,” he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of smiles. I’ve had a lot of people walk by when we were out in the yard puttering around with the dog or gardening, they’d say ‘Hey, I really love it and it made me laugh.’ We’ve actually gotten to meet five or six people just from around our block who we see but never really get to say howdy to. It’s kind of nice. We’ve met quite a few people just in our neighbourhood, which is awesome — and it’s kind of the point of the project, really.”
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
