Rafaga - Unleashed

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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Public art

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Current

Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

Ráfaga Unleashed is a stainless steel and bronze sculpture designed by Dam de Nogales and fabricated by Kubes Steel, at Pier 8 on the Hamilton waterfront. Kubes Steel gives the sail as 52' x 26' x 26' (16 m x 8 m x 8 m); a map layer of unconfirmed publisher gives a 60-foot sail.

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Rafaga - Unleashed

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43.27660° N, 79.86207° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Ráfaga Unleashed is a stainless steel and bronze sculpture at Pier 8 on the Hamilton waterfront, in Ontario. Its fabricator, Kubes Steel, says it was designed by Dam de Nogales and calls it "one of Hamilton's finest examples of public art". Kubes Steel says it fabricated the stainless steel sail portion, and gives the sail as 52' x 26' x 26' (16 m x 8 m x 8 m).

The artists' website lists the work under the title Rafaga Unleashed, Hamilton Waterfront. A public map layer describes it as "A 60-foot abstract sail made of stainless steel with two bronze figures by artists Veronica and Edwin Dam De Nogales" and gives "Installed: 2004"; that layer's publisher is unconfirmed, and its 60-foot figure differs from Kubes Steel's 52-foot sail. The layer lists the address as Waterfront Trail at Pier 8, 57 Discovery Drive.

Kubes Steel's earlier project page is title-dated 21 July 2004, was updated in July 2025, and uses the past tense ("was a stainless steel and bronze metal sculpture"), though both Kubes pages place the sculpture on permanent display at Pier 8.

Not found in the sources read: confirmation of the 2004 installation date from a named publisher, the commissioning body, the artist's own account, a City of Hamilton record, or recent confirmation that it still stands.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

At Pier 8 on the Hamilton waterfront. A public map layer (publisher not confirmed) gives the address as Waterfront Trail at Pier 8, 57 Discovery Drive.

ACCESS

Described by Kubes Steel as on permanent display at Pier 8; admission, hours and access conditions are not stated in the sources read.

COMMUNITY

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WHAT'S NEXT

Find another Big Thing nearby

Woodpecker Column is a public artwork by the Toronto artist duo Fastwurms (Kim Kozzi and Dai Skuse) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The Convention Centre describes it as a 100-foot column carrying a pileated woodpecker and a yellow-bellied sapsucker, with coloured glass that glows at night.

Public art

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56 km away

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