Valley Line project soars with Max Streicher's "Helios"

If you’ve ever felt like your morning commute might be inspired by a fiery chariot racing across the sky, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in great company. That fiery image of the Greek sun god was the catalyst behind artist Max Streicher’s proposal for Helios, an inflated sculpture, soon to be suspended from the ceiling of the Churchill Connector Station. The piece is one of fourteen public artworks selected for the Valley Line Southeast LRT project, commissioned through Edmonton’s Percent for Art policy and managed by the Edmonton Arts Council.

The sculpture, depicting three horses lunging from a cloud structure, will be installed at the station’s entrance, on the SE corner of Churchill Square, providing a dramatic view to all who enter. It’s a medium Streicher knows well, having worked extensively with inflatable technology in kinetic sculptures since 1989.

For this piece, Streicher was inspired not only by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s ceiling fresco in the Imperial Hall of the Würzburg Residenze, but also by the location of the Churchill Connector Station and its historic significance to transportation and agriculture.

“The vicinity of Churchill Square was once the location of Edmonton City Market, which was an important economic and cultural hub for the whole surrounding area dominated by farms and ranches. The agricultural importance of this site only diminished as the City of Edmonton responded to the rise of the petroleum industry. So, the inspiration to bring the horse image to this location was a combination of the mythical Helios depiction, the once bustling agricultural life of this site and, of course, the historic connection of horses to the movement of people, as this location has long been an important transportation hub.”

For inflated sculptures such as this one, Streicher normally sews with a white polyester, but for this project the fabric needed to be fireproof at the molecular level — a tall order (100 metres and 70 pounds) that could only be filled by a supplier in Germany. Fortunately, the bright-white fabric was worth the wait, promising to glow in the sun and gently expand with air, at times making the horses seem as though they might be breathing.

As Streicher explains, one of the appeals of working with inflatables is the element of surprise that the medium allows.

“For example, works develop as two-dimensional drawings that will become three-dimensional when sewn together and air is added. Sounds very simple, but the result is always surprising, even to myself. And then there is presenting the work. I’m additionally delighted (usually) by the response of viewers. They can be quite moved, and that can be for various reasons. I think a lot of it has to do with how the works seem to come to life as a result of the air moving within them. These once inanimate fabric ​‘bags’ are kind of like us — given shape and sustained by some mysterious inner forces.”

Though little of the process has taken Streicher by surprise, keeping the piece to scale did present a few challenges. His solutions, however, produced a final piece he describes as better than what he originally envisioned, and the cloud is a big part of that.

“The scale of the work had to of course fit the limits of the site. At first, my concept was for three horses on their own, but they were feeling unsubstantial at this limited scale — the horses are only about life-size, maybe a bit larger. My solution was to add a cloud form, from which the horses are emerging. This didn’t add anything to the height, but it did add volume and maybe a kind of physical resolution. I feel the cloud adds an important narrative element for viewers to ponder.”

It won’t be long either before viewers can do just that. With installation taking place the week of October 20^th, Streicher will soon be making his way from Toronto to complete Helios​’s four-year journey home to the Churchill Connector Station.

A metal truss made of steel pipe clamped together on a cable system (for maintenance purposes) will suspend the sculpture from the ceiling. Though the truss will arrive by transport truck, the fabric horses and cloud will travel with Streicher by plane, in a not-to-be-lost suitcase. Once on-site and installed, Helios will be inflated with a small industrial fan to greet the ever-changing sunlight and commuters that pass by it daily.

It’s a moment Streicher says he is more than ready to meet. And the anticipation of sharing his first public artwork causes him pause.

“Having done this for 30 years, I’m used to seeing my work in incredible places, so though I’m looking forward to seeing the final installation, I imagine that, in that moment, I’ll largely be reflecting on what an honour it is to be in a profession that brings joy to people. I’ll think about that… and I hope it will do that.”

Max Streicher’s artwork for the Churchill Connector Station was commissioned through Edmonton’s Percent for Art policy, managed by the Edmonton Arts Council. It is one of fourteen public artworks selected for the Valley Line Southeast LRT project. Click here to learn more. To learn more about Max Streicher and his work, click here.

About Max Streicher

Max Streicher is a sculptor and installation artist from Alberta, now residing in Toronto, Canada. Since 1989 he has worked extensively with inflatable technology in kinetic sculptures and installation works. Max Streicher’s work was included in the Sixth Beijing International Art Biennial. He has shown widely across Canada in museums and public galleries such as the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Art Gallery of Alberta. He has been part of group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto and The Power Plant Centre for Contemporary Art. He has completed several site-related projects across Canada, Europe, Asia and South America.