Camera: Hasselblad 500C/M     Lens: Zeiss Distagon T* 4/50mm     Film: Agfa RS200     Date: 27.09.1990

Chief of the Undersea, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC

This incredible 5.5 meter tall, bronze sculpture sits just outside the Vancouver Aquarium, created by world-famous Haida artist Bill Reid in 1983. The plaque accompanying this monumental work reads, “Chief of the Undersea world, who from his great house raises the storms of the winter and brings the calm seas of the summer. He governs the cycle of the salmon and is the keeper of all the oceans living treasures.”
 
The creation of this monumental piece was a team effort. While Bill Reid designed the scuplture and carved the miniature form from boxwood, his artistic vision for the full size sculpture was translated into reality by others due to his recent diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. Fellow Haida artist, Jim Hart, worked to refine the surface of Reid’s small carving that was the genesis of the project. He also defined the surface of the plaster intermediate scale model. Sculptor George Rammel ensured that the true spirit of the design was captured and every detail was perfectly executed in the final bronze.