Shifting sand: City artwork moved over safety concerns
An interactive sculpture that encourages participants to pause and reflect was unveiled yesterday at Queen Elizabeth Park.
However, the piece has since been moved to City Hall after officials noticed “antisocial behaviour in the park that could compromise the piece’s safety and future enjoyment”.
The artwork, LAPS: Pink Sand, is a modern imagining of the hourglass created by Olivier Landreville in collaboration with the visual artist RiverJune, real name Julia Derdour.
The sculpture features a steering wheel that controls the flow of vibrant pink balls through the transparent columns in recognition of Bermuda’s pink sand.
Mr Landreville said he hoped the work would help “reclaim our relationship with time”.
He said: “It’s an invitation to play, to breathe, to notice. The moment you take the wheel, the rhythm becomes yours.”
John Harvey, the Acting Mayor of Hamilton, unveiled the work yesterday.
He said: “Public art should spark curiosity, conversation and connection — LAPS: Pink Sand brings all of that and more.
“It’s interactive, meaningful, with a uniquely Bermudian flair. This installation reflects the City’s commitment to making Hamilton a vibrant, inclusive and ever-evolving cultural hub.”
The installation visited cities such as Denver, Ottawa, Houston, Delray Beach, Minneapolis and Liverpool before it came to Bermuda.
It was originally presented in Montreal in 2022, and this is the first time LAPS has been customised for a location.
Jessica Astwood, the corporation’s director of marketing and communications, said: “LAPS was conceptualised as a physical and sensory response to the fast pace of modern life.
“We wanted to create something that invited people to slow down, engage with their surroundings and feel present in the moment.
“The ‘Pink Sand’ variation adds a distinct Bermudian signature, linking this international artwork to our local environment.”
The piece was intended to be moved between key locations in Hamilton to keep the experience fresh and engaging, but a spokeswoman for the City of Hamilton said it was moved to City Hall earlier than scheduled.
“While Queen Elizabeth Park provided a beautiful backdrop for its launch, the sculpture has been relocated to the grounds of City Hall a little sooner than planned after officials observed antisocial activity in the park that could compromise the piece’s safety and future enjoyment,” she explained.
“Moving it to City Hall helps to ensure the artwork remains protected and available for everyone to experience.”
Jessica Astwood, the City’s director of marketing and communication, added: “This is the beauty of LAPS — it’s designed to travel, to transform every space it touches and to create moments of connection wherever it goes.
“By placing it at City Hall, we’re ensuring even more people can engage with it in a safe, central and highly visible setting.
“This installation invites interaction — it’s meant to be touched, explored and enjoyed by the community.
“City Hall provides the perfect stage for the next chapter of LAPS: Pink Sand’s journey, and we look forward to seeing it inspire even more moments of reflection and joy.”
The corporation has now installed more than 20 public artworks in the City through its Vivid Public Art Initiative.
As part of the local adaptation, Helen Zoellner, the City of Hamilton’s public affairs manager, wrote a poem inspired by the installation and its themes.
When the Last Grain Falls — displayed next to the sculpture and published here — adds an additional layer of reflection and ties the piece more deeply to Bermuda’s identity.
When the Last Grain Falls
Grains upon these island shores,
suspended between land and sea,
held in the hands of the wind and waves,
falling, shifting, shaping are we.
Pink as the dawn, soft as the swell,
we slip, we shift, we rise, we fall.
The waves may claim, the winds may call,
yet still, we endure, through it all.
We shape the land, we chart the deep,
but time moves on; it does not sleep.
No voice can call it, no hands can stay,
no force can hold its course at bay.
Yet here, for a breath, the tide is still,
the turning sands bend to your will.
Spin the glass, let moments flow,
pause, reflect, then let them go.
But when the last grain falls,
when your hour on Earth is done,
may you not have wasted,
a single one.
• UPDATE: this article has been updated with the latest information from the City of Hamilton
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