Forest and Field worked closely with artist Catherine Widgery and architects Reich+Petch to create a proposal for a monument for Heritage Canada and the National Capital Commission.  The monument speaks through the voices of the victims of communism, and enables an experience that visitors move through. Through this experience the monument becomes more than an object in a landscape.

This Memorial holds, in one intimate space, the dark of Communism and the light of freedom that is Canada. A luminous cube is at the heart of this Memorial. Quotes from victims of Communism perforate the walls. In the Room of Remembrance a cloud of voices surrounds us. They speak of repression and sorrow. Rusted columns mark the Field of Struggle, representing the masses who’ve suffered. Names of victims are cut inside the channels.

 A square within a square expresses the confinement and control of Communist culture, while paths resembling lightning bolts enter the squares, breaking them open. We walk freely through the space. On the railings of the Bridge of Knowledge, tiny reflective squares cluster around posts that mark milestones in the history of Communism. These squares move in the wind – shimmering spirits of those who died live now in memory. The upper platform is the Refuge of Canada where we look out at the landscape of Canada and the institutions that protect our freedoms.