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Location: National Bank Place, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Material: Fiberglass, Steel, Formable Concrete, Matthews

Primer/Paint/Automotive Clearcoats

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The Song of the Dodo is a memorial to the species we have lost through ignorance or prejudice; it is a cautionary tale. The iconic image of the dodo as a fat, clumsy and not particularly smart bird was made famous in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It is believed that the dodo's lack of intelligence, accentuated by its odd physical appearance, led to its extinction and tragic demise. Unfortunately, the bird’s openness, curiosity, and fearlessness likely made it easy prey. Coupled with the destruction of its natural habitat by humans, this led to its eventual disappearance. In 1662, a Dutchman briefly marooned on the island of Mauritius gave the last credible eyewitness account of a living dodo. Since then, the song of the dodo, if it ever had one, has been lost to human memory. Inspired by Montreal’s historic Square Victoria and the landscape designed by CCxA Landscape Architects, this sculpture of a dodo—part of the same family as the common pigeon—invites us to reflect on this loss and celebrate nature’s diversity. It encourages us to consider those marginalized by intolerance and discrimination. Situated in front of National Bank Place, The Song of the Dodo underscores the organization’s commitment to protecting the environment. A portion of the amount allocated to this artwork will be donated to Bird Protection Quebec, an organization dedicated to education, conservation and the protection of bird species. The Song of the Dodo will therefore help preserve wildlife habitat for the future.

 

Photography by: in house and Unknown

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Project Details

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The DODO was digitally sculpted and sent to the 5 Axis DMS Milling machine to be

reproduced in a negative form. The parts where then sealed and prepared with a

set of specialized coatings to receive several layers of engineered fiberglass material.

The parts were then reassembled over a engineered galvanized steel internal frame

with mounting base plates. The DODO was installed and the concrete stone

form was sculpted around the base to seamlessly fit with the sculpture and 

the existing hardscape.

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