Immense Mode

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Public art

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Immense Mode is, according to the City of Edmonton's open-data record, a 2009 sculpture of legs at the Southgate Transit Centre, 111 Street and 51 Avenue, Edmonton, by Red Deer-based artists Dawn Detarando and Brian McArthur. The record says it is made of 42,000 pounds of brick and mortar, stands 20 feet tall, and is supported by a welded metal superstructure.

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Immense Mode

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53.48516° N, 113.51619° W

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The story

According to the City of Edmonton's open-data public art record, Immense Mode is a sculpture of legs at the Southgate Transit Centre in Edmonton, by Red Deer-based artists Dawn Detarando and Brian McArthur. The record gives the year as 2009, lists the mediums as hand-carved bricks and glass tile, and gives the address as 111 Street and 51 Avenue. Its link field points to the Edmonton Arts Council's page for the work.

The record's text calls the sculpture "an expression of whimsy" made from 42,000 pounds of brick and mortar, which, "at 20 feet tall, demands your attention." It says the work is "as much a work of engineering as it is art", with the entire structure supported by a welded metal superstructure. It adds that the artists built the form around that framework from specially fired, hand-carved bricks made at their Red Deer studio.

On meaning, the text says the artists imagined the legs to represent the thousands of real, human legs that will use the transit centre, standing and waiting for a bus or a train, or walking to and from the shopping centre. It calls the work "a symbol of that shared experience, meant to inspire a smile during an otherwise routine commute." The massive legs, it says, are a nod to the history of monumental sculpture while representing the craft and kitsch movements, a contrast to what it calls the "sleek utilitarianism design" of the station.

The text adds that the artists are also known for tile mosaics, such as those at the Red Deer Recreation Centre and the Killarney Pool in Calgary, and that both work independently, primarily in ceramics. The record's text carries no date of its own.

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