Nautilus
This sculpture by Doug Taylor evokes the sea and ties into the name of the condo building behind it.
Artist: Doug Taylor
Location: Wave Tower (13303-103A Avenue)
Category: Private collection
Developer: Rize
Year Installed: 2015
About Nautilus
Made of steel and aluminum, Nautilus is a large, site-specific sculpture that stands on the southeast side of Wave, a condominium building in Surrey Central. The moonshell is readily found on our beaches and is seen here graphically as the chambered nautilus. The configuration of its chambers represents the ocean’s wave action and reflects the building’s name. The overlaying of three skeletal renderings cut in 2.54 cm thick aluminum suggests the transition from the microbiology of a simple organism to the macrocosm of the Milky Way. The design falls into the realm of the golden spiral, a mathematical order to the universe at the very root of human activities.
Nautilus is made up of two parts that create tension and contrast: the curvy and weightless-looking steel outline of the nautilus, and the 3 metres tall angled steel wall on which it is mounted. In the evenings, Nautilus is illuminated in colour. The rear of the wall features a fifteenth century inscription by the great poet Rumi: “Live in the nowhere that you come from even though you have an address here.”
About the Artist
Doug Taylor was born in Chilliwack, BC in 1947. Kinetic in nature, his public installation sculpture has focused largely on wind, water, and solar-powered features. Whimsical and folk art-inspired elements are often signature to his work. Doug lives in Vancouver.