Ernest Daetwyler: Shelter Spheres

Public art project presented by ARTSPACE

May 29 – June21 2009
in downtown Peterborough locations (look for it in Hunter/Aylmer area)

Opening reception and Artist Talk: Friday, May 29th 7 PM at ARTSPACE

The site-specific installation Shelter Spheres consists of a cluster of nine interactive, floating spheres, a temporary utopian living environment in an urban area, both public and private, in Peterborough.

Appearing as dreamy, temporary and volatile spaces, each sphere is made of plastic wrap, transparent duct tape, steel and wood and the larger ones (up to two meters in diameter) close to the ground invite the public to interact and access its interiors. Smaller spheres are placed up high in the trees, impossible to reach or inhabit and floating in space as plastic bubbles.

The installation Shelter Spheres recalls associations with an utopian environment or particularly when inhabited, a scientific experiment and has an immediate, poetic and surreal presence.


Ernest Daetwyler studied at the Schule fuer Gestaltung, Bern, the Centro Europeo in Venice, Italy and received his master diploma from the Schule fuer Gestaltung, St. Gallen, Switzerland. His interdisciplinary projects are presented in Canada, Europe and internationally. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Presence Suisse, the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund, the City of Kitchener, the City of Stratford and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, N.Y. 

Ernest is a director/founding member of CAFKA, the Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener and Area, an international artist-run biennial of contemporary art projects and interventions in the pubic realm throughout the Region of Waterloo (www.cafka.org).



This project is being presented by ARTSPACE in conjunction with Ontario Heritage Conference 2009, Peterborough ON.