Anyone driving down King Street in front of Kingston General Hospital may have noticed pollution.
For those who don’t know, “Pollution” is the actual name of a sculpture that has been a fixture on the waterfront for nearly a half-century.
It is now in the process of getting a makeover after time and the elements have taken their toll on the landmark.
“When things look old and look damaged, it encourages the public to care less about it,” said Tom Riddolls, city curator and heritage programmer.
Riddolls has filled some holes and cracks, and the new paint job certainly makes this nearly 50-year-old installation more of an inviting sight.
“This sculpture was given to the city of Kingston by Quebec City in 1973 as a gift to commemorate the 300th anniversary of French settlement in Kingston,” said Riddolls.
“We actually have three in the city that are part of that collection. There is “Time,” which is behind me at Breakwater Park, and “Tetra,” which is down at Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.”
But it’s “Pollution” that the city’s dealing with now — and plenty of research has gone into it.
“The colours are actually original to the artist, we actually took cross-sections, so we’re not just guessing … we’re able to put it back to the original colours that the artist had envisioned,” said Riddolls.
This project should be completely finished in the next week or so.
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