Places in a Book | Sussex | Part 1

My name is Stephen Cruise and I was fortunate enough to get the commission to do these works that are entitled "Places in a Book - Six Chapters", consists of six bronze elements at 3 crossroads along Spadina: one at Sussex, another at Harbord and the last at Wilcox.

The 2 bronzes you're looking at now consist of, on the west side a rooster and on the east side a dog. This is the first stop out of Bloor going south on the streetcar line. And I came across the fact that there was such a thing as a Sussex Rooster. And overlapping that with the fact that this was the first stop, the rise of the day, I then felt that the two had sort of come together and decided on this depiction of a Sussex Rooster. The rooster is facing the rise of the morning sun, which is generally speaking in the east for us.

Directly opposite the rooster you find the dog. Now, what was of interest here was that these two poles would be opposite each other, one on the west side of Spadina southbound, the other would be on the northbound on the east side. So this set up a particular dynamic for me as far as picking the Sussex Rooster to represent the begin of your journey.  On the wayward home trip you have the dog waiting for you. This would be the last stop before you enter the subway at Bloor. And what's atop this pole you find a dog. It's a particular dog, it's a Sussex Spaniel.

Want to hear more, check out part 2.

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