Myth Statement
Myth
For Myth, Senetchko presented a collection of works under the title Proposals for Public Monuments: actual proposals for public sculptural projects. The proposals include elevation sketches, artist’s renderings, and moquettes. Each proposal is site specific, and is motivated by a myth that is both relevant to the site and still has meaningful content for a contemporary audience.
Sea to Sky Momento Mori
The skull has long been one of the most potent memento mori symbols for reflection on death, the immortality of the soul, the afterlife, as a means of perfecting the character, and cultivating detachment. In Sea to Sky Momento Mori motorists would drive between the underside of the upper palate of the bisected skull carved into the mountain on either side of Highway 99...literally into the mouth of death. Given the dangerous nature of driving in general, and especially concerning the treacherous Sea to Sky Highway (even with the upgrades), it seems appropriate that those traveling the route pass through a reminder of the very corporeal nature of their existence before they begin their journey.
The Colossus
The monumental feet reflect the original Colossus of Rhodes (constructed in 280 BC to commemorate a military victory and signify its importance to the rest of the ancient world) on either side of the entrance to False Creek to imply the previous existence of not only a much larger and more complete human sculpture, but also a preceding culture that acts as a foundation for this one. In so doing, the monument serves as a testament to the global prominence of the city and the importance of one of its foundational cultures.
The Hand of the Artist
People insist on perpetuating the ‘romantic myth of the artist’ as being somehow ‘divinely inspired’, or receiving their inspiration from some ineffable source. This proposal puts forward the literal imprint of the artist on a god-like scale as permanent mark upon the landscape: the negative impression of the artist’s thumbprint serves as a lake, and the positive impression creates a rocky butte in a redesign of John Hendry (Trout Lake) Park. The artist’s divine-scale presence sits as a permanent reminder of this myth’s hold upon the public imagination.
