Barren Ground Caribou, 1977–78

In 1977 Parkin was working with Nina Wright, founder of Arts & Communications Counselors, which was incorporating art into the Toronto subway’s Spadina line. Wright handled the commercial aspects of the project and Parkin collaborated with the artists, including Joyce Wieland.

“In the 1970s there wasn’t a lot of art on display in public areas. Things began to change with works like Barren Ground Caribou by Joyce Wieland, an enormous quilt that features caribou in a landscape. This was a major project that I worked on with Joyce for the Spadina subway station. Joyce wanted to bring the tundra landscape to downtown Toronto, but in a completely surprising and feminine way, so she created the large installation as a quilt.

“When this piece was unveiled in 1978, people were so excited! Subways are an essential characteristic of great cities. Placing art in the Spadina line was a moment of civic pride that filled what had been something of a cultural deficit until then.

“The Toronto public art consultant Rina Greer also worked on the Spadina subway line project at the same time. Like I do, she points to this important moment in Toronto’s history as a key highlight of her career.”