67. Elder Moon

Elder Moon by Leslie and Leonard Wells

A photo of the Elder Moon at the entrance to the South Surrey Recreation Centre on 20th Avenue in South Surrey. Famed Haida Gwaii artist,  Robert Davidson trained two carvers, Leslie and Leonard Wells.  In July 2009, at a traffic circle at South Surrey rec centre, the carvings of brothers, Leslie and Leonard Wells were unveiled.  Their overall circular designs allude to traditional Coast Salish spindle whorls and speak to a history of art-making distinctive to the region. Rich with symbolic meaning, the disks are installed on the traffic roundabout at the South Surrey Recreation Centre, near the Semiahmoo First Nation community.   Elder Moon alludes to the Coast Salish “13 Moons” yearly cycle, which provides guiding principles for social and ceremonial life. Each of the moons symbolically represented in the outer rings is associated with a story and a time of year.

I have walked by this a few times and on a sunny day, the turquoise of the Elder Moon is quite brilliant against the background of trees. Busy with traffic, this makes for a very inviting entrance into this well used recreation area.