2022, BURNABY, CANADA
COSMOS
(I AM AS CONSTANT AS THE NORTHERN STAR)
CITIMARK DEVELOPMENTS
CITY OF BURNABY
MOSAIC TILE, WEST ELEVATION: 377.25” L x 176.75 H
NORTH ELEVATION: 261.00” L x 176.75” H
Knowing where you are in the world is fundamental to knowing who you are. Cosmos (I am as constant as the northern star), a celestial cornerstone of the night sky in glass mosaic, is inspired by the renewed interest in navigating by the stars.
As one of the brighter stars close to the celestial pole, Polaris was used for navigation at least from late antiquity, and described as aei phanēs “always visible” by Stobaeus (5th century). Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor and is very close to the north celestial pole, making it the current northern pole star.
Because it lies nearly in a direct line with the axis of the Earth’s rotation “above” the North Pole—the north celestial pole—it stands almost motionless in the sky, and all the stars of the northern sky appear to rotate around it. Therefore, it makes an excellent fixed point from which to draw measurements for celestial navigation.
This mosaic places the stars within our reach and allows the public to locate themselves in time and space.
Photos: Blaine Campbell
Thanks to Mosaika Art & Design, Ballard Fine Art,
Citimark Developments, and the City of Burnaby