Toronto Through My Lens

“Hours of the Day”

In 2018, Paul Raff Studios installed a sculpture entitled Hours of the Day. The piece honours Ontario’s correctional workers who have fallen in the line of duty.

The “sheets” are actual sculptural representations of the angles of the sun as it moves over the hours of the day, month, season and year, forming a kind of a three-dimensional sundial.

The sculptor of the piece – Paul Raff – remarks that:

…one doesn’t need to read the time with it, but what it does do is speak to the theme of time, which to me was the most important and essential theme in recognizing the vital role that correctional workers play in the health of our society. It is this contribution, of the hours of service, that we felt needed to be articulated in the sculptural form.

The geometry of the sculpture is derived from a very specific and elaborate computer program which tracks the angles of the sun throughout the day.

What I love about [the sculpture is that with its very accurate, high tech, three-dimensional mapping, it actually strikes a remarkably unique figure that offers a lot of visual richness. It looks different from every angle, unfolding for pedestrians as they commute past it, looking different on their way to work than on their way home. It looks different at different times of the day, and in different light.
Paul Raff

The sculpture is situated by Queen’s Park Crescent East, near the Legislative Assembly:

2 Comments

  1. Bob K

    I have never noticed this sculpture, at all. Ha ha, I’ve spent so much time in this area. Thanks for calling it out.

  2. David

    I second Bobs remarks. I haven’t seen this either. Good for you Marvin for keeping us informed.

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