Uploading The Wall to virtual immortality

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This article was published 05/02/2025 (625 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Late Monday evening, staff from the University of Manitoba descended underground with high-tech equipment to photograph the subterranean concourse at Portage and Main — and one wall in particular.

The Wall is a 127-metre-long concrete sculpture that spans the inner facade of the plaza, making it the longest in situ artwork in Canada. The public art piece, created by late Winnipeg artist Bruce Head, has been on display since 1979 but it may become inaccessible if the concourse is closed following the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians.

Upon learning of the sculpture’s uncertain future last spring, Jason Shields knew he could at least help preserve the artwork digitally.

“It’s always been very important to me to find ways to archive these spaces that are in question,” says the assistant professor of interior design at the U of M.

Shields is currently studying the use of 3D laser scanners in documenting architecturally and culturally significant spaces. The Wall conundrum presented an ideal opportunity to test his research in the real world.

Judy Waytiuk, Head’s widow, was delighted by the proposition.

“I’m really, really grateful,” says Waytiuk, who has been lobbying Winnipeg’s city council to consider the artwork in its pending decision to close the concourse. “It’s going to make it possible for The Wall to be put in front of art historians and art students and art faculties across the country, so it’s a really valuable addition to Canadian contemporary art history.”

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham has commissioned a feasibility study to assess the condition of the underground mall and, earlier this week, confirmed the concourse will remain open until that report is received.

On Monday night — beginning at 10:30 p.m. to avoid crowds — Shields and a half-dozen colleagues spent two hours meticulously capturing every metre of the circular concourse with a high-definition laser scanner.

The device is a small black pod that sits on a tripod and rotates 360 degrees, “kind of like an owl’s head,” says Shields.

When in use, the scanner shoots invisible lasers into its surroundings, simultaneously capturing photographs and distance measurements. Each scan takes several minutes to complete. The result is an accurate, highly detailed digital replica of a space.

Shields and his team collected approximately 25 scans of The Wall, which will be edited, stitched together and turned into a 3D file made publicly available online.

“One of the first and foremost reasons to archive that artwork is to be able to allow future generations to access it,” Shields says. “Through your browser, you would be transported to The Wall, you’d be able to zoom in, move around and take measurements.”

The file can also be processed through virtual reality software, opening the door to interactive exhibits.

Shields believes this technology can play a role in preserving civic history and hopes to conduct scans of other notable Winnipeg locales — especially those at risk of being decommissioned.

“There’s so many stories that are lost when a building is lost,” he says. “It’s very important that we have some form of archive of these (spaces) because often the drawings or records may be difficult to access.”

The digitization of The Wall is an independent project, funded through research grants previously received by Shields from the university and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

While Waytiuk is pleased to have the artwork archived, she’s disappointed by the lack of involvement by the city or the Winnipeg Arts Council, which had been tasked with looking into possible ways of preserving the sculpture.

“If it hadn’t been for the serendipitous fact of Jason’s project, there would be nothing,” she says.

Coun. Jeff Browaty, who hopes the concourse will remain open permanently, says, “spending a little bit of time and energy to digitally capture the Bruce Head piece is probably time and energy well spent.”

And tamara rae biebrich, WAC’s public art manager, says the council supports the effort and has offered to share the 3D rendering on its website.

“While the future of the Portage and Main concourse and this significant artwork remains uncertain, we’ve seen decommissioned public artworks in other cities successfully documented in similar ways,” biebrich says.

eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com