Basil and Chris Frost installing their collaborative sculpture.
Chris Frost explains Colony to neighborhood children (photo Lee Kilpatrick)
COLONY
Christopher & Basil Frost
I had worked with Chris Frost at Forest Hills Cemetery, where he created a wonderful site-specific sculpture called Neighbors. I loved the way he used different styles and eras of architecture in that work – cast cement replicas of the homes of diverse people buried there – to evoke history, class, and personal character. I invited him to create a work for the Minuteman Bikeway that combined his interest in architecture with the site's natural setting. I also asked him if he could think about incorporating a sense of play, which I have seen in some of his works including a full scale replica of a child's tree house exhibited at the Boston Sculptor's Gallery.
Chris enlisted his daughter Basil as a collaborator and together they developed Colony. The sculpture combines diverse architectural structures – some found in the town, some from further away, and some simply imagined – and offers itself as a home for local birds.
Although no birds have taken up residence, visitors have shown their appreciation by placing toys and mementos in the inviting nooks and bridges of this elegant and but friendly sculpture. It is perched like an Italian hill town in a majestic maple tree; in place of birds, dinosaurs and action figures enjoy the vista overlooking Spy Pond and the busy comings and goings of the Minuteman Bikeway.