Dean of Arts Office:
PAS building, room 2401
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 48246
Arts Undergraduate Office:
PAS building, room 2439
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 45870
Arts faculty and staff resources
Arts computing support for students, faculty, and staff
By Elizabeth Rogers
They've been decorated, climbed and pranked. They graced the Hagey Hall courtyard for almost 44 years before disappearing into limbo (or rather, a UWaterloo storage facility) to await their fate. Now the beloved “pickle forks” are enjoying the sunshine once again, just in time for the start of the new academic year.
These iconic sculptures were a part of the Arts landscape until April 2015 when they were removed to make way for the Hagey Hall Hub. In the interim, artist Ron Baird worked with Plant Operations to reimagine their arrangement to what has been described as “a single Swiss-Army-knife-like sculpture”.
Some feared the pickle forks had suffered the same fate as “David of Sassoun”, which disappeared never to be seen again. But on Friday, July 27, the new multi-tool made its appearance, thanks to the care and hard work of Plant Operations (and a crane).
Over the years, many have speculated about the purpose of these sculptures (a couple of which are NSFW). We agree with the Imprint's 2006 article that these sculptures should “remain enigmas”.
Dean of Arts Office:
PAS building, room 2401
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 48246
Arts Undergraduate Office:
PAS building, room 2439
Tel 519 888-4567 ext. 45870
Arts faculty and staff resources
Arts computing support for students, faculty, and staff
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.