Still Point/From the Centre Outwards

Artists: Jacqueline Metz and Nancy Chew
Location: Semiahmoo Library and RCMP District 4 Building (1815 152 Street)
Category: Civic collection
Year: 2004

About Still Point/From the Centre Outwards

This installation in the lobby of Semiahmoo Library and RCMP District 4 Building describes the accumulation of knowledge and the journey of ideas through a number of symbolic devices. Two primary images form the conceptual framework: the mythic “tree of knowledge” and the rippling rings that emanate from a still point on a body of water.

The piece includes growth rings made of metal typeface, text etched in granite, and a water surface with a still point and its outward ripples captured on glass. The water ripples represent the metaphoric journey through time and space of an individual or a culture.

The tree of knowledge symbolizes the powerful influence of thoughts, ideas and, in particular, the printed word. Text, including quotes about culture, literature, and law, is etched chronologically from the centre out, like rings of time. Together, the concepts stress the importance of knowledge and unfettered intellectual growth as well as the importance of the individual in the process.

More on Still Point/From the Centre Outwards

About the Artists

Nancy Chew and Jacqueline Metz are visual artists and have worked collaboratively since 1997. They are also known as Muse Atelier and their work is centered on the public realm. Their practice explores ideas of nature and culture and how we position ourselves within the world. Much of the work reflects on perception, on re-contextualizing the familiar or iconic, on how we mythologize the world around us. Acclaimed for their simplicity and elegance, artworks by Nancy Chew and Jacqueline Metz can be found in cities across North America

Their other public artworks in Surrey include The Meeting of Mind and Body, Tree of Knowledge, and water's edge.