Visitors to Oliver Woods Community Centre can look up and see a new multicolour art installation visualizing Nanaimo numbers.
Histogram Histories, a new public art installation by Kiranjot Kaur, will be at the centre for the next five years, the City of Nanaimo stated in a press release.
The city called the artwork innovative, as it "turns data into art, transforming historical statistics about Nanaimo into an eye-catching hanging sculpture that encourages the public to see Nanaimo through a new lens."
The Surrey artist, who is also an author and engineer, created colourful "graphs" that invite viewers "to look through time with each line of fabric cylinders representing one of seven metrics tracing change in Nanaimo over time … [It] is an invitation to explore how statistics can tell the story of place, not only through numbers, but through colour, shape and form."
Kaur said in the release that by presenting demographic, cultural and environmental data through art, she hopes to provoke thought about the depicted trends and "the kinds of information that is both included and excluded throughout the process of historical storytelling through data."
Mayor Leonard Krog said the art represent Nanaimo and helps community members connect more deeply with the city's story.
"It transforms complex information into something people of all ages can enjoy and learn from," he said in the release. "We’re proud to support projects that spark conversation and bring beauty and wonder into everyday spaces."
More information on Histogram Histories can be found on Kaur's website at http://kiranjotart.com/histogram-histories.
