High Jinx at the Avonmore LRT Stop
June 6, 2022
There are some “High Jinx” going on at the Avonmore LRT Stop. It’s the latest piece of public art to be installed along the Valley Line Southeast and is part of Edmonton’s growing collection of permanent public art pieces.
High Jinx is the name of this new art installation in Avonmore. It features three deer sculptures. The gold, red and blue animals, which were put in place in April 2022, are the creation of Edmonton artist Paul Freeman.
Freeman is the Artistic Director at the Nina Haggerty Centre for the Arts and a drawing instructor at the University of Alberta.
He has been making sculptures since the early 2000s with numerous exhibitions but this is the first time Freeman has delved into public art. And he knows it’s a different animal.
“Public art really needs to recognize that it’s not happening in a gallery. People don’t really have a choice. It’s important to be respectful of the fact that everybody’s going to see it. The intention from the very beginning was to make something that everyone could enjoy and be happy to see when you saw it everyday.”
Freeman has done deer sculptures before but part of his idea of putting them at the Avonmore Stop is its proximity to the river valley.
“Essentially it was two simple notions…can I provide a bit of that thrill that you get from seeing wildlife like deer in the city. And evoke a bit of that fun that I think pretty much all of us have enjoyed in the winter, which is sliding down hills and valleys in toboggans and things like that. It’s called High Jinx for those reasons. Thrilling surprise and having fun. “
The day after putting them up Freeman went back to take a look and ran into a community member he knew 30 years ago. He was told lots of people in the neighbourhood were excited to see them going up.
“These people who live in Avonmore have to live with it. It’s important to me that the people who have been putting up with the construction, that at least when the station is completed they will be happy with what they got. Obviously you can’t control the reaction of every single viewer but my experience so far is that people really like it. And that makes me happy for sure.“
You can find out more about High Jinx and other public artworks by browsing the City of Edmonton Public Art Collection Online Gallery.
