Tillicum Bridge

Last month I posted some photos of the Bay Street Bridge, noting that it was the second bridge to cross The Gorge when moving away from the harbor. The next bridge is the Selkirk Trestle, used exclusively by cyclists and pedestrians. The next bridge for automotive traffic is the Tillicum Bridge which crosses the Gorge at a very narrow place called Reversing Falls because of the vigorous tidal currents that change directions there according to the ebb and rise of the tides. In this photo the water is still at nearly high tide. Beneath the bridge on the right is an ancient shell midden.

Street Art 2

I don't much like the term "Street Art," particularly since, as in the above example, it may not be on the street. This one is under the Gorge Bridge. But I've been using "street art" for want of a better term. I've been avoiding the use of the word "graffiti" because it has associations with writings on lavatory walls and or with scrawlers who simply have identity issues ("Kilroy was here!") though there is often socially significant content in these writings on walls. (For a time, when I was a grad student (Anthropology), I used to collect writings I found in men's washrooms. They are witty and creative surprisingly often, but I digress....) I'm also reluctant to describe the kind of public art seen in the photos above and below as "popular art" because it seems a little patronizing - as if it's not "real" art in the same way that comic books are not considered to be "real" literature. I hope someone out there can suggest a better term.

I think it's interesting that while we all applaud "art" and revere professional artists, these unknown street artists work in the depths of the night for fear of arrest and often decorate difficult locations at considerable bodily risk. (No Canada Council Grants for these guys - they're lucky if they don't get thrown in the pokey!)

In reference to the artwork above, I am impressed by the location chosen as well as by the execution. And the somewhat cynical, world weary expression on the face is not the work of some immature vandal.

Gorge Park II

A fellow Victoria blogger, "Postie," just posted a photo of the first Gorge Bridge, consisting of a few logs spanning the gap between the rocks that I showed in yesterday's photo. The photo above is taken from beneath the modern bridge. Just to my left (off camera) is a rather uninteresting looking mound of gravel. It is a shell midden over 4,000 years old, the oldest archaeological site on Southern Vancouver Island. This area was important to the Native Peoples both spiritually and materially.

This locality, here at the narrows of the Gorge waterway is a sacred place in the traditions of the Lekwammen (Songhees) Native People. It was here, at the reversible tidal falls that the spirit being Hayls transformed to stone a little girl named Camosun and her grandfather Snukaymelt ("Diving"). This act ensured the protection of the rich food resources of the Gorge - herring, Coho Salmon, oysters and ducks.

On a spirit quest individuals went for long dives into the Gorge until Camosun granted them the powers they were seeking. It was believed that only a person who practised regular spiritual cleansing rituals would gain the powers necessary to acquire success in life.

It was the spirit Hayls who created the Gorge and turned some of Camosun's people into the Garry Oaks, Blue Camas and Easter Lilies that grow along its banks. The natural foam created by the reversing tidal falls was used to wash garments to protect their wearers from drowning.

(The above quote is posted behind a fence erected to protect the midden.)

Below is a photo of the modern Gorge Bridge. The shell midden referred to above is located in a sort of cage beneath the bridge on the right side in this photo.

Gorge Park

Much of Victoria lies along the banks of an arm of the ocean called the Gorge. On its way inland the Gorge is crossed first by the Johnson Street Bridge, then the Bay Street Bridge and the Selkirk Trestle. Beyond the Selkirk Waters the Gorge passes through a very narrow rocky gap that is spanned by the Gorge Bridge. The photo above was taken from that bridge looking further up the Gorge. The Gorge Park walkway is visible on the left hand side of the photo above and over the next few days I will be pleased to show you a little more of this area.

Below is a photo taken beneath the bridge showing how narrow the Gorge is at this point. This photo was taken just as the tide was changing. When it begins to run fully there is a rapid and powerful current here.