Olympia, Washington -
Run of Giant Fiberglass Salmon

Ten giant (8-foot) fiberglass salmon sculptures mounted in a gravel-river in the lobby of the Olympia Center. Part of a public arts project encouraging artists to tell stories about our town's connection to the magical fish and interconnection with the natural world. They were formerly mounted outdoors, and were brought indoors in 2002.

Examples:
-- Wishupona Fish, whose scales are comprised of thousands of pennies; each penny was donated and represents a wish for the salmon's future, written on paper and sealed inside the sculpture. Wishupona was mounted outside the city's transit station and was stolen, later to be found in the Denver house of a former Evergreen State College student who claimed he "found it in the woods." Wishupona was greatly missed, and Olympians rejoiced when it swam back home.

-- Souls of Extinction, depicting species whose interactions with humans led to their extinction. A warning to us to care for salmon, which face severe ecosystem threats, and to care for ourselves (we're not immune from extinction, even though we act like we are).

-- The Lucky One - Only one in 1,750 baby salmon get back to their home stream to spawn. This fish shows 1,749 black smolt heading downstream...and one red one making the return trip.

-- Salmon Boy, a carved First Nations boy riding a giant salmon to the sea.

-- Salmonscape, a view of the salmon's and people's habitat, made by 3rd and 4th graders out of cut paper, and looking much like stained glass.... [Misha, 12/18/2004]