The Trail Commuters
The Trail Commuters by Bau & Cos Studio is one of many public artworks on display across the City of Mississauga.
Bau & Cos Studio, 2024
Polycarbonate
Winston Churchill Boulevard, north of Britannia Road West
About the artwork
“As Mississauga continues to grow at an urban scale, there is even a more pressing need for a green form of transportation. This artwork promotes alternative commuting methods and breaking daily driving habits.
Flann O’Brien’s “The Third Policeman” (1940) is one of our initial literary precedents for the transportation art installation. The novel is about people evolving into live bicycles – half-human and half-bicycles. Flann explains that as we bike, our personalities start to mix with the personalities of the bicycle – “the interchanging of the atoms”. It is incredible how the novel still rings true to this day about the human relation with not only bicycles, but other forms of commuting methods such as scooters, wheelchairs, and ambulation; you eventually become dependent on it as a primary means of transportation, especially if your city is encouraging this form by creating multiple safe trails and bikeways, such as the Lake Wabukayne Trail.
The installation shows the figures migrating from one side to another. The shadows of the figures create a second environment, mirroring the movement. By illustrating the commuter and their commuting method as one, the artwork promotes Meadowvale’s growing active transportation infrastructure.”
– Andres Bautista and Novka Ćosović
Gallery
About the artists
Bau & Cos Studio is a Toronto-based architecture and design firm, founded by Andres Bautista and Novka Ćosović. Their work is very versatile – as architects and designers, they work on residential, commercial, and public art work. The studio has been commissioned to design projects for City of Mississauga, City of Burlington, Heritage Toronto, Nuit Blanche, Myseum of Toronto, Pride Week, as well as various residential projects throughout Ontario.
For more, follow the artists on Instagram @bauandcos or visit their website.
More information
Photography by Bau and Cos Studio.