The Sound Eater

 

Location: Sculpture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 16 October 2025

Artist Meghan Cheng has used data visualization techniques to create a sculpture that brings the soundscape of the Sculpture Garden to visitors in a whole new way. Each of the four distinct segments of this serpentine creature represents the audio waves of a sound frequently heard within the garden. They are then playfully arranged to create her "sound-consuming serpent". The sounds, all recorded on Sunday July 27, 2025 are:

Section 1 (head): Streetcar, 8:05 am

Section 2: St. James church bells, 7:59 am

Section 3: Melodic bells, 7:58 am

Section 4 (tail): Bird, 7:42 am

Vimāna (N1 Starfighter)

Location: Sculpture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 29 October 2024

When the months are dark I have a special fondness for installations that brighten the night. I also love space epics and science fiction so this sculpture, installed in the Toronto Sculpture Garden as part of the Toronto Biennial of Art last fall, brings me joy. Rajni Perera creates a futuristic-looking spacecraft from modern materials such as acrylic and LED lights while evoking the look of a traditional paper lantern. 

From the descriptive panel: The work explores themes of spacefaring and immigration, incorporating the Sanskrit term vimāna (which has various meanings related to flying) to challenge Western narratives of advanced aerospace technology.

Afrophilia

 

Location: Sculpture Garden, King & Church
Date photo taken: 5 October 2022

The Toronto Sculpture Garden is currently occupied by 9 busts on elevated plinths, but these aren't the typical white marble depictions of ancient philosophers or founding fathers. Instead, Jamaican-born artist Frantz Brent-Harris celebrates young black people in hues of bright orange and red. He describes it as a love letter to Black People. From his artist statement: "Unapologetically, my artwork seeks to present a juxtapose palate to the white gaze, standing in defiance of historical notions of heroes, representation of beauty and those worthy of being immortalized in a statue. Grounding my work in an anti-colonial and anti-racist lens, I present images that works to dismantle and provide alternative embodiment of beauty.” The work is presented by Black Artists' Networks in Dialogue (BAND) Gallery and Cultural Centre in partnership with the City of Toronto. 

Pigro

Location: Sculpture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 29 October 2018

The current installation in the Sculpture Garden is an airy creation of sculpted metal and colourful lights, drawing inspiration from both wrought iron street fixtures like fences and lamp posts, and the colourful lights strung for festivals. According to the artist statement, it is a "playful reclining figure... [which] acknowledges the park as a place for rest and relaxation." I love that it brings a bit of light and colour to the darkness of winter in Toronto. It is by Toronto-based artist Tony Romano. 

Beach (2793 km)

Location: Toronto Scupture Garden, King & Church

Date photo taken: 4 March 2019

Earlier this week I was walking and scolding myself for not dressing warmly enough when I encountered this message. It stopped me in my tracks. It was created, as far as I could tell, out of simply ice and snow. If it had contained a QR code for a travel agency, I'd probably be on a plane right now. I wonder which beach I'd end up on?