Outside-In: paint chip

From On the River

While embarking on a derive along the Grand River, I came upon a paint chip. Initially taken with its odd shape, only after picking it up did I realize it was several layers of paint. Walking under the Gillette bridge your attention is usually focused forward rather than along the ground, or even at the walls forming the bridge structure. The paint chip, dirty and deteriorating, once played an integral part in the broken down mural.

Pausing under the bridge with the paint chip I thought of the time and effort it took to create the mural and of the neglect and short-sightedness that led to its deterioration. Struck by the desire to reclaim a bit of the mural, I took the paint chip and preserved it in plexiglass. Replacing the paint chip back on the wall of the mural, it blended into the wall, but now with a sense of permanent protection.