This sculptural installation takes a contemporary approach to the concept of monument. Rather than a traditional structure to be looked at and contemplated, it invites the visitor into the monument to share an important part of the Canadian identity and culture.
A large chaliced form evokes the original Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup gifted by Lord Stanley in Ottawa on March 18, 1892 and the current Stanley Cup as it came to be known. It is the very essence of this cup – a trophy that speaks of hockey and of the passion it incites in its scores of fans, a repository of names and dates documenting each series’ win – that informs the sculptural installation. A thick round of polished matte black granite, across from the Cup, alludes to a hockey puck and offers seating.
Inspired by the hockey rink, the ground surface is poured in place white cement . Thin stainless steel lines crisscross the white ground suggesting skate marks on ice. Thirty-six black granite discs are scattered across the rink, embedded flush in the ground. Each is engraved with the name of a hockey team that made it to the Finals : 16 are matte finish, representing the Challenge Cup era (1893 – 1915); 20 are mirror finished, representing the NHL era from 1915 to 2017.