Turtles

About Turtles

This outdoor metal sculpture of two turtles, inspired by an indigenous artist, lights up at night.

The majesty of woodland birds and animals is celebrated in these striking, large metal sculptures by the Six Nations Mohawk artist Adam Monture.
In collaboration with Jeremy Freiburger, Monture’s beautiful paintings of woodland animals were re-imagined as a series of 3-dimensional sculptures.
In indigenous cultures, turtles are among a number of creatures that are considered sacred. The turtle is often believed to represent Mother Earth.
Hand forged from aluminum, the turtles appear as a ‘double’—one image mirrors the other. The exterior of each sculpture is painted a dramatic matte black with the two animals facing one another. The sculptures come alive at night with LED lighting; both the colour (green, blue, pink) and the brightness can be controlled remotely. The Woodlands project was first installed in Hamilton as part of the city’s Winterfest celebration.

“That (installation) all started from the one painting, from the bear painting.” Adam Monture

Adam Monture lives in Ontario. He is a self-taught indigenous artist who created a series of colourful paintings called “The Woodlands After Dark”-- animals and birds—the heron, deer, bears, wolves, turtles and loons. The bear’s painting had been purchased by Jeremy Freiburger. Freiburger works with Cobalt Connects, a non-profit that supports cultural projects. In collaboration with Freiburger, the paintings’ images were used to create these sculptures.