Earth Rx: Nature Becomes the Cure in Tania LaCaria's Sculpture

Hamilton Spectator

21-05-2025

The Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection is currently hosting the fourth annual Burlington Waterfront Sculpture Trail (BWST) throughout Burlington's downtown area. According to BWST's website, the goal of the trail is 'to bring sculpture into the public realm in a free and accessible trail linking major elements of Burlington's stunning downtown core and waterfront.'
All of the artists whose work is featured are Canadian. One such artist is Tania LaCaria, whose sculpture, 'Natural Remedy,' is part of the Village Square Collection and is located at 429 Elizabeth Street.
LaCaria creates found art sculptures. She spoke about what attracted her to the art form.
'Found object sculpture is appealing to me because it gives me an opportunity to be creative with recycling and reusing materials,' LaCaria said. 'And I love presenting people with the opportunity to think about existing materials in a different way.'
LaCaria's sculpture consists of various pill vials stacked on top of each other, filled with rocks, stones, twigs, dried flowers, and botanicals.
LaCaria spoke about the meaning of the piece.
'I think that I am definitely making a commentary about nature's ability to heal from a holistic perspective in terms of creating medicine from natural remedies,' LaCaria said. ' But I also want people to think a little bit more conceptually and outside the literal presentation of nature as medicine, and think about how natural spaces can be grounding and healing.'
LaCaria said that she doesn't want to discount the importance of pharmaceutical medication, but said that nature can be an enhancement to other types of treatment.
'That connection to nature can heal parts of ourselves that are wounded and lost, just by being outside, just by looking at beautiful trees and water and the natural elements,' LaCaria said. 'For me, it always takes me back to a sense of peace and serenity, and that's not something, in my history, in my life, I've been able to find, except in nature.'
'There's no medication that can help you get back to yourself as strongly, I believe, as pairing it with something like being in nature and connecting with the earth,' she continued.
LaCaria said that during the pandemic, she turned to nature to strengthen her mental health.
'I found the only sense of mental wellbeing I had during the pandemic was when I would go for a walk,' LaCaria said. 'Just being outside, moving my body and feeling my footsteps line up with my heartbeat, helps you remember that there's life outside of your little world.'
'Being outside gives you this expansive feeling that there's so much more to life than just you and your situation,' LaCaria continued.
LaCaria collected the natural materials from the Chedoke Trail in Hamilton and the LaSalle Marina in Burlington. The flowers and moss were pre-dried, although LaCaria commented on the fact that much of the moss is now full of condensation despite this.
'That's an element of the art that I didn't anticipate, but I'm quite pleased about, because I'm not entirely in control of the situation, and I'm okay with that,' she said.
LaCaria said that using local foliage was intentional and meant to bring home the fact that you don't need to go far to experience nature.
'Even just being outside of my neighbourhood brought me so much relief,' she said. 'These are rocks, stones, and twigs that you can go on a walk anywhere and find rolling around in a parking lot. There's nothing exceptionally exotic here.'
LaCaria sourced the vials from Jones Healthcare Group. She altered the bottles to create different sizes in an attempt to create visual variety.
LaCaria said she appreciated the geographical placement of the piece, on the outer edge of Village Square. 'I like the idea that these natural elements are not right by the most obvious natural element, the body of water,' LaCaria said.
LaCaria also noted that some of the vials had fallen from their place in the pile. 'I'm okay with that,' she said. 'I'm gonna bring it to their attention, but if they don't fix it, I also love the idea that with found object sculpture, you're at the mercy of the materials.'
'I don't even think I could have created such an intentional pile of pieces on the base if I wanted to,' LaCaria continued. 'It's kind of cool for me to see how it's changed and what it's becoming now between the condensation and some of the bottles and the reaction to the elements. Nature is ever changing.'
Passers-by can vote in an Audience Choice Award, accessed through a QR code affixed to the base of each sculpture. A free tour of one of the six collections in the trail is available on May 27 at 7:00 p.m., starting at the gazebo in Spencer Smith Park.
The BWST features 57 sculptures, more than double the amount they had last year, and is on until June 1, 2025. They are hoping to add at least another 10 next year. Linking landmarks and infrastructure with sculptures inside the Joseph Brant Hospital, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, and the Pearle and Waterfront Hotel, and outside along the lake and as far north as Ontario St. along Brant, the BWST offers an interesting option for exploring the city and art at the same time. To find more about the BWST, visit
https://www.bwst.ca/
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To find out more about LaCaria and her work, visit
https://tanialacariastudio.com/
. She is well-known for her abstract and intuitive paintings, which explore paradox via themes of gender, sexuality, social structure, and more. LaCaria's sculptural work has been displayed in Hamilton's Jackson Square and the Bentway in Toronto, and now as part of the BWST.