Woodpecker Column - Toronto, ON
Posted by: ras258
N 43° 38.571 W 079° 23.101
17T E 630254 N 4833473
Two giant woodpeckers are on this giant tree trunk south of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Waymark Code: WMCRR4
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 10/08/2011
Views: 18
Two giant woodpeckers are taking a break from pecking the bare trunk of the tree just behind the convention centre. For years, because of this sculptures proximity to Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome) I thought it was a baseball bat and wondered why those weren't blue jays on the bat. This sculpture adds some nature and some colour to the downtown core of Toronto which is getting eaten up more and more by new condos. The 30-metre tall column is black in colour and has numerous holes it it, presumably from these woodpeckers pecking away at it. Both of the birds have bright splashes of colour even though they are predominantly black and white. The birds also have a good shine which is a nice contrast to the dull black of the column.
Woodpecker Column is one of the featured pieces of art (#18) on the City of Toronto's Art Walk - Toronto's Outdoor Art Gallery. Link: (
visit link)
"Woodpecker Column
Fastwürms, 1997
Dominating the south entrance to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre is Woodpecker Column by artists Dai Skuse and Kim Kozzi working collaboratively under the name Fastwürms.
This 30-metre tall column rises from the concrete in unexpectedly stark but delightful contrast to the geometric regularity of the building, appearing to be pecked by a pileated woodpecker and yellow bellied sapsucker. References to nature frequently occur in the art of Fastwürms and in this case it is specific to the site’s history as a swamp where waterlogged and decaying trees would have attracted indigenous woodpeckers."