SUDBURY, Ontario – Tyler Fauvelle, a professional sculptor based in Lively, Ontario, announces that bronze monuments honouring the Huron-Wendat Confederacy, and John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, were unveiled on August 1, 2015 at the Rotary Champlain Wendat Park, Penetanguishene, Ontario.
The monuments were commissioned by the Town of Penetanguishene, as part of the community’s Rendez-Vous Champlain 2015 celebration. The event commemorated the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain’s first landing in what is now Penetanguishene, on the shores of Georgian Bay.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, Huron-Wendat Chief Jean Sioui, and the Minister Responsible for Francophone Affairs, the Honourable Madeleine Meilleur, were among the dignitaries at the event.
Sculpted in clay, cast in bronze and mounted on Georgian Bay granite, the four bronze reliefs, which are arranged in a circle, represent the core members of the Wendat Confederacy: The People of the Bear, Cord, Deer and Rock. The Bear and Cord nations were the largest and oldest of the confederacy, forming their alliance in the 15th century.
“I worked on these pieces with great respect, and mixed feelings,” said Fauvelle. “We all know that when explorers reached this land, the future story of Canada’s First People changed radically. When I sculpted the reliefs, I broke the symmetry of the circles, to show the fracture of an ancient way of life, a world interrupted. But, I also felt the dignity of the Huron-Wendat people, and of a rich culture interlaced with the land and its natural spirits.”
“This artwork is remembrance, in all its complexity.”
Fauvelle also created a life-sized bronze sculpture commemorating John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant-Governor. “In 1793, Simcoe foresaw Penetanguishene’s strategic value as a naval base,” said Fauvelle. “In fact, the Penetanguishene Naval Establishment later proved to be a key development in the Town’s history.”
Fauvelle recently exhibited a bronze of Stompin’ Tom Connors, which will be located in downtown Sudbury. Later this month, he will be in Timmins to unveil a bronze commemorating Ukrainian cultural hero, Taras Shevchenko.
Photos: Sculpture by Tyler Fauvelle