Lynn Malin and Elizabeth Bowering Beauchamp, 'Recycles'

Artist Background:'Recycles' is a work created in 2001 by artists Lynn Malin and Elizabeth Bowering Beauchamp. The piece is situated in Beaver Hills House Park at Jasper Ave and 105 St and was commissioned as part of The Places initiative through The Works.

Lynn Malin has been working as an artist in Alberta for over 30 years. She has obtained a number of arts-related degrees including schooling at the Banff School of Fine Art and the University of Alberta. Her usual medium is paint – creating site-specific landscape works and focusing on nature. She often hikes or skis into remote locations to create inspiration for her upcoming works.

Elizabeth Bowering Beauchamp is currently an art history professor at Grant MacEwan University. While there is minimal information on her as an artist, she has been working in the Edmonton arts community since the 80s when she was an arts writer for the Edmonton Journal. Malin and Beauchamp often work together creating artworks that focus on nature, topography and human effect on the Albertan environment.

‘Recycles’ consists of bicycle-like structures below moving whirligigs that can apparently be activated by pedaling the bikes. The sculptures are created from a mix of new and reused metal objects. In a statement on The Works website the artists state that the hoped ‘Recycles’ would be an “interactive, kinetic sculpture celebrating a lively and festive downtown.”

My Thoughts: I am interested in the idea of recycling and wish there was more information about the intent of the piece and its comment on reused objects. I am not surprised that the work has to do with recycling as so many of the pieces by Malin and Beauchamp deal with nature and the environment. I wonder why they chose such a colourful and lively work to discuss the idea of environmental awareness. While I could easily pick up on the concept of a lively and bustling downtown, I would not have guessed the piece had an emphasis on the idea of reuse had I not already been familiar with the name. I wonder if this was not the primary purpose of the piece and the main comment the artists wanted to make was simply about the energy of the city.

Furthermore, I am absolutely blown away that these sculptures move. I pass this park every day on my way to work and I have never seen anyone pedaling the bikes or moving the whirligigs. In my own interaction with this work, it never occurred to me to try and sit on the bike and pedal. I assumed I would look silly – something I definitely wouldn’t want in such a busy park. I might try now that I know the sculptures are supposed to be interactive!

Have you ever tried to pedal the Recycle bikes?