Chief Of The Undersea World

Picking up where I left off in yesterday's post, this was the view of topiaries to come, with the Ottawa shoreline visible across the river.

I took another perspective of the poppy topiary.

Then I photographed down the steps towards the main path, with a view of things to come.

This topiary pair was added for this year. Snowy Owls depicts two of the birds that are found in vast northern stretches of the country. If you look at the background of these shots, you can make out the Alexandra Bridge, as well as the Peace Tower across the river.

Part of the pathway here allowed for another view of the topiary from behind.

I moved back along the main path to this topiary, back from last year, and which you've seen above. Chief Of The Undersea World: Bill Reid's Killer Whale is the title of this topiary representing British Columbia. Reid was a Haida sculptor whose vivid sculptures are found in many places in Canada. The bronze version of Chief Of The Undersea World can be found at the Vancouver Aquarium, while the plaster version is here, at the nearby Museum of History. Reid's depiction of the killer whale includes First Nations symbology, a nod of the importance to Pacific Coast peoples of the animal's place in their culture, and its faithful interpretation as a topiary is quite a sight to see.