‘This was his legacy’ : The work to preserve this massive piece of art with virtual reality

Within the underground concourse below Portage and Main is a massive piece of art at risk of disappearing forever. Danton Unger explains.

Within the underground concourse below Portage and Main is a massive piece of art at risk of disappearing forever. But, the artist’s family has taken matters into their own hands to ensure the piece lives on through virtual reality.

When Judy Waytiuk heard the concourse may be closed, she was heartbroken – that’s because the concourse holds the legacy her husband left behind.

“It’s a magnificent piece of artwork, and it really needs to be preserved,” Waytiuk told CTV News.

It’s called “The Wall”. It was crafted by the late Canadian contemporary artist Bruce Head in 1978.

“Bruce worked on this piece for two years. It took two years of his life to do,” Waytiuk said. “This was his legacy to Manitoba. This is what he gave to the city and the province.”

Above ground, work is underway to reopen the intersection to pedestrians, while the future of the concourse below remains uncertain – and with it, the future of “The Wall”.

“Close the concourse; ‘The Wall’ is gone. Nobody will see it again,” she said. “It could be buried. It could just be shuttered off, but it would be out of public view forever.”

A city spokesperson told CTV News the city hired a consultant to assess any requirements of potentially decommissioning the underground. They said this process includes consultation with the Winnipeg Arts Council to address the Bruce Head piece.

“Preservation of artwork, and specifically the Bruce Head feature, will be considered as part of any future plans for the underground concourse,” a statement from the city reads.

But removing the massive 400-foot concrete mural – the largest of its kind in Canada - would be a tall task. That’s why Waytiuk has taken matters into her own hands.

“If the concourse closes and it’s gone, at least ‘The Wall’ (will) live in virtual reality,” she said.

Waytiuk, the executor of the Bruce Head Estate, has partnered with Jason Shields at the University of Manitoba to create a 3D digital copy of ‘The Wall’.

“The device itself will actually shoot lasers out of it, and those lasers will create distance measurements, and will allow us to replicate ‘The Wall’ itself,” Shields said.

The assistant professor in the department of interior design said these scans will allow “The Wall” to be digitally re-created in various mediums such as virtual reality.

“We often lose some of these pieces to time, and now that we have the technology and the ability to be able to scan archive and to be able to let these pieces live and move forward – I think it’s an incredibly important gesture,” Shields said.

He said he has been in contact with the city and hopes to begin the scans of “The Wall” in the next few weeks.

Waytiuk calls it a magnificent idea.

“It’s the only conceivable way that The Wall can be preserved, the only possible way,” she said.

Though she is still hopeful the demise of the concourse is not yet set in stone, Waytiuk is thankful her husband’s legacy will be.