Photo description:

After nine years of planning, designing and creating, Glenboro-based sculptor Peter Sawatzky installed his massive bronze work, "The Seal River Crossing," on May 2 at the Riverbank Discovery Centre in Brandon. The sculpture, depicting 11 caribou crossing a river, is eight feet high, 34 feet long and about eight feet wide. It now sits along the centre's entrance on Conservation Drive and will be the centrepiece of a sculpture garden celebrating Sawatzky's creations. The inspiration for the sculpture came to Sawatzky when he took a trip north to a hunting camp and flew over the Seal River Crossing, where he saw hundreds of caribou in their fall migration. Right: Friends of Sawatzky help place a portion of the sculpture as it is lowered using a zoom-boom — a forklift with a telescopic arm. Bottom left: Sawatzky (right) was on hand to oversee the installation. Bottom right: A view of the complete sculpture. (Photos by Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun)