Land & Sea Murals at Ogden Point Breakwater, Victoria, British Columbia. Photo by Chris Holt Photos, http://www.chrisholtphotos.com

I took a walk with my family on Thanksgiving Day and, under a dramatically dark October sky, saw for the first time the spectacular murals on the breakwater at Ogden Point in Victoria, BC. With the addition of the murals, the old grey breakwater has become majestic. It doesn’t compete with its coastal backdrop but appears to emerge from it.

Graced with these murals, the breakwater spans out into the sea like a dream unravelling. The murals depict images of local chiefs and BC’s Lieutenant Governor Steven L. Point, and images of land and marine life. The meeting of land and sea life in these murals is fitting, for the places where land meets ocean (called biomes or lifezones) are nurseries for all kinds of life. They are rich with nutrients, biodiversity and possibility. So it is with these murals.

According to the Times-Colonist, the eye-catching mural panels are designed by local First Nations artists. They are part of an artistic project that will lead to 100 panels being mounted on the landmark seaside walkway. The first panels were created by Coast Salish artists Butch Dick Songhees First Nation) and Darlene Gait (Esquimalt First Nation) and a team of Aboriginal youth.

“The spirits of our ancestors live on in those of us who try to bring dignity and nobility back to our people through honesty, generosity and respect,” said Darlene Gait in a news release.

I am hardly qualified to comment on anyone’s art; I can only speak to the way these murals made me feel. Looking at the them, I did experience a sense of the noble. I’m not talking about noble as in the European lords and ladies, but of something older and more powerful, something distinctly of this place and time — perhaps the spirit of the sea itself.