Reticulated Gambol

Both a jungle gym and a contemporary artwork, Reticulated Gambol will challenge the imagination of neighbourhood children just as its creation challenged the talents of acclaimed Canadian artists Christian Giroux and Daniel Young. This unique public artwork is part of the newly built Lee Centre Park in Scarborough.

This functional and interactive public artwork is made from standard CSA-certified playground equipment. Its symmetrical 12-metre powder blue steel square form sets it apart from the multi-coloured, asymmetrical arrangements found in a typical playground. The title suggests that systems of order exist to be experienced or played with; “reticulated” refers to the means by which any form can be divided into a grid while “gambol” means to play.

This City of Toronto commissioned work, produced in collaboration with PMA Landscape Architects, was the result of an open competition process in 2006. An independent panel convened and selected the artist team, Christian Giroux and Daniel Young, to work with the park’s landscape consultants, PMA Landscape Architects LTD, to develop a unique work for this site. The duo of Giroux and Young has been producing large sculptural works since 2003; this is their first permanent public commission. Their provocative use of common industrial materials and forms has earned them international acclaim. For more information about the artists, visit http://cgdy.com.

Azure's contemporary art and design magazine Designlines has already featured the artists and their Reticulated Gambol work. Journalist Andrea Carson writes, "Unlike many young artists who define themselves by their downtown street cred, sculptors Christian Giroux and Daniel Young harbour a special fondness for the city's outlying areas. Their latest project, installed in Lee Centre Park in Scarborough, reworks a playground jungle gym into an enormous series of Escher-style pathways and ladders."

Reticulated Gambol is located in the newly built Lee Centre Park on Lee Centre Drive, near the intersections of Bellamy Road and Progress Avenue in Scarborough.