Title: Thierry’s Spirit
Medium: Marble
Artist: Morton Burke, Canada
Description: The buffalo is an animal that is culturally significant to many of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Its meat was used for food, other parts were used for clothing, shelter and spiritual ceremonies. Nearly everyone who sees this sculpture will instantly recognize this connection.
The buffalo that this sculpture is modeled after was hunted by my grandfather in 1960, the last year that licences were issued and the year that I was born. The taxidermy mount of the head hung in the main vestibule of Olds Agricultural College for over 20 years adding to the local significance of this sculpture.
A few days after I started the work of transforming the raw stone into the form of a buffalo, I received the sad news that Thierry Lauwers had passed away. Thierry was one of the world’s most prolific creators of public art, he was taken from us much too early in his life leaving far too many art works not yet realized. Thierry was a strong and honorable man who will be dearly missed by the international sculpture community, it is with the deepest respect that I dedicate this sculpture to his memory.
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