For artist Sydney Ahlstrom, Saturday was a whale of a day. The Orleans resident and about forty other spectators witnessed the unveiling of his whale sculpture — the town’s first work of public art since 1883.
The steel sculpture is located on Cove Road across from Left Bank Gallery. It depicts a humpback whale about the size of a water cooler jumping above an imagined ocean.
“I decided to do a humpback whale because it’s a very popular subject matter around here. It kind of brings the sea to the spot and it’s what I’ve found people are very happy with them,” Ahlstrom said.
The installation is a part of the Cape Cod Chamber’s Creative Place-making initiative, funded in large part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The effort aims to develop the cultural districts of Cape Cod.
“When I make, especially a public piece of sculpture, you really want to try and do something as many people as possible are going to enjoy, so I really thought this was the right subject matter and it seems like it’s done that,” Ahlstrom said.
A group of industry professionals and Orleans citizens blindly judged eight public art pieces before choosing Ahlstroms’ sculpture. Clare O’Connor is the Chamber’s director of economic initiatives. She says the group looked for art that not only reflected the community’s environment but started a conversation. The competition was stiff but Ahlstrom’s whale stood out.
“He did all of the very Orleans-y type of things that you would do as an artist and then he really put his art to work,” O’Connor said. “As an artist, he created a starfish as the base, which I saw for the first time yesterday. And then, today his son pointed out that the connection between the whale and the base was an eel. I mean, only Syd would do something like that. It’s absolutely wonderful and it just makes me smile."
Next Stop: Hyannis. The Chamber will unveil the second Creative Placemaking piece by Steve Kemp in Hyannis’ cultural district on June 29.