It’s always exciting to work on a design project that is a bit out of the ordinary, especially one connected to the arts. The Big Loon Portage bus wrap is a great example. The initiative to bring art to the masses in the form of a Peterborough City full bus wrap was a joint venture between Artspace and the City of Peterborough. Having worked with both groups independently in the past, I was thrilled to be awarded the design contract to execute this interesting project. Local indigenous artist Jimson Bowler was awarded the commission, based on a series of anti-colonial paintings he did where he painted First Nations symbolism and icons directly over thrift store found landscapes, frames and all. Translating this intriguing approach to a full bus wrap was a special challenge and Big Sky worked closely with the artist, the stakeholders and suppliers to ensure a successful and artistically sensitive finished product.
Since then, Big Sky has worked on several bus wraps and also produced Jimson’s website. His work is varied and thought-provoking. You can see it jimsonbowler.com.
2013