This piece was created by Artist Tom Otterness – commissioned by Lanterra Developments – to be installed outside the entrance of the condominimums located at 18 Yonge Street in Toronto.

 

 

Otterness is famous for creating larger than life figures that convey a sort of humour or whimsy.  This sculpture is no different as the family is somewhat comical looking – very round – and some have even said they were actually designed to look like turtles…

 

 

It is said that for this piece, his original idea was to show tourists visiting the city apparently in consultation with Lanterra, the idea morphed into immigrants – so as to represent the rich history of immigration in Canada and Toronto.

 

 

The sculpture shows a family – husband, wife and infant child – with the child being cradled in the mother’s arms – with suitcases in tow – arriving in the new country and looking forward to all the hope and promise a new beginning brings.  Many feel that the piece seems to be almost the perfect way to welcome people to the building where it is situated.

 

 

Interestingly, this piece has also faced quite a bit of criticism – mostly due to the playful nature of the figures juxtaposed against the seriousness of the political issue they are meant to represent.   The harshest of critics have claimed that Otterness, based on this sculpture, seems to believe that immigrants should be regarded as dolls who love babies and look like cartoon characters, with the inference being that by creating pieces such as this, Otterness seems to believe that nobody should ever worry about the issues around immigration, such as assimilation and ethnic tension.