SUDBURY SCULPTOR'S LATEST WORK HONOURS FERN BLODGETT SUNDE

‘The wave she touches symbolizes the wave of social change that came for Canadian women in the storm of war’

A sculptor from Sudbury has unveiled his latest life-sized bronze statue in honour of the first woman to work as a wireless radio operator.

Canadian Fern Blodgett Sunde served on a Norwegian merchant ship, during WW II’s Battle of the Atlantic.

Public Art, 'Make Waves' - Fern Blodgett Sunde and The Battle of the Atlantic, Sculptor Tyler Fauvelle — ‘Make Waves’ — a bronze statue by northern Ontario sculptor Tyler Fauvelle — was recently unveiled in honour of Fern Blodgett Sunde (1918-1991). Sunde, raised in Cobourg, Ont., was the first woman ever to work deep sea as a wireless radio operator – a “Sparks”. The life-size statue sits in Victoria Park, Meditation Garden, Cobourg, Ont.

Tyler Fauvelle’s statue of Sunde also honours all Canadians who served during that time — and it was unveiled in Cobourg earlier this month, where Sunde grew up. Fauvelle’s work includes more than a dozen public art bronze monuments, four of which are military-themed.

“Fern’s clothing is very typical of what she wore as she carried out her duties as a wireless operator aboard the Mosdale,” Fauvelle said.

“The headphones slung around her neck symbolize her work and her profession. The pin on her lapel commemorate the sisterhood of Sparks who followed her to sea. The wave she touches symbolizes the wave of social change that came for Canadian women in the storm of war.”

In 1943, she was awarded the Norwegian War Medal, the first woman ever to receive the honour.

“It was a privilege to create this lasting tribute to Canadians of a monumental generation, the men and women who fought and supported a necessary war,” Fauvelle said.

“Thousands didn’t live to see the peace that their sacrifice bought, and they were on my mind as I sculpted the clay.”

Public Art, Battle of the Atlantic Relief, 'Make Waves' - Fern Blodgett Sunde and The Battle of the Atlantic, Sculptor Tyler Fauvelle — Close-up of relief sculpted in the wave, which alludes to Canada’s role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The Cobourg Museum Foundation commissioned the ‘Make Waves’ monument. It was funded in part by the Government of Canada, through the Veterans Affairs Canada Commemorative Partnership Program. Charitable foundations, local businesses and individuals, as well as the Town of Cobourg, made financial and in-kind contributions to the commemoration.

They said the statue was commissioned to honour 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, which is this year. The statue was unveiled this month, which is Women’s History Month in Canada.

CBC News, cbc.ca

Photos: Sculpture by Tyler Fauvelle