Image: Dyan Marie, Lansdowne Underpass, Completed 1993. Three of seventeen relief sculptures. Located throughout Lansdowne and Rideau underpass area, Toronto. Art embedded underpass pathway. 

This public art commission for the City of Toronto created a passageway to discover 17 sculptures dispersed along the walkways on both sides of Lansdowne Avenue as it dips for an overhead railway bridge. The relief sculptures incorporated patterns constructed of different materials including various terrazzo aggregates, zinc, bronze (both cut and cast) and cast glass.

The commission was part of the City of Toronto’s Public Art Program, and as a method of heightening the experience of the Lansdowne/Rideau Underpass as a landmark, artist Dyan Marie has created a sculpture which makes the underpass a passage of discovery. A series of inlaid forms have been inset into the walls and sidewalks of the underpass so that the artwork is offered as a process of finding, of making accidental discoveries that create a personal experience.

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The public art works to mediate the experience of walking a long stretch of walled space and encourages the use of the underpass as a walking route.  Walking enhances health and mindset, offers community-building opportunities for neighbours to meet and to put more eyes on public space. Walking provides occasion to notice, address concerns and celebrate successes: it improves the experience of living in cities.