The 66-storey Living Shangri-La building at 188 University Avenue in downtown Toronto houses luxury condos and a hotel. At street level there sits a stainless steel sculpture entitled "Rising" by Shanghai-based artist Zhang Huan.
After doing a bit of research on this artwork, I discovered that it took the artist two years to complete in his Shanghai studio (2009-2011). Weighing 22 metric tons, "Rising" was shipped to Toronto in five containers and assembled onsite. Up close you can see that the birds are perched all over a giant tree root, covering it in a flurry of detail before they migrate inside to the lobby. The root is shaped like an animal, and from further up the street the sculpture appears as a silver Chinese dragon.
According to the artist Zhang Huan, "the monster-shape tree advocates the protection of ecology, and the harmonious relationship between humans and nature. "Rising" represents my wish for beautiful city life to be shared by mankind and nature".
