Jasper’s francophone community had the chance to be part of a monumental event this Monday. Sculptor Herman Poulin was in town for the morning, collecting fingerprints that will form an integral part of a new sculpture he has designed for Alberta’s Legislative Grounds. The artistic rendering of a fleur-de-lis combinedwith the wild rose has been commissioned to honour the French-speaking population of the province.

Poulin was encouraged to provide an opportunity for the many francophone communities in Alberta to make their mark, and inspiration came to him as he carved a styrofoam version of the piece.

“As I was carving, some little pieces were falling into the space in between, and I thought, that’s the seeds of the French language in Alberta right there,” he said. Each seed is dedicated to a region and fingerprints are being collected from all across the province. Jasper, the newest local organization in the province, is one of 12 that will be represented on the monument, which will be cast in bronze.

“This belongs to the Jasper region,” said Poulin, holding the clay mold into which pupils of Ecole Desroches had placed their fingerprints. “What’s important is that you will have a monument with over 1,200 individual fingerprints.” Local officials reported that 81 fingerprints were eventually collected in Jasper.

Poulin has been working on the sculpture for more than a year, and is eagerly awaiting its unveiling, which is scheduled for late summer or early fall. He couldn’t have done it alone, he said.

“Usually, the artist hears what is wanted, goes to the studio and does it, but in this case we had a lot of discussion and that’s how we got to have people participate,” he said. “A good piece of art always has to evolve as you do it, it can’t be stagnant.”

The styrofoam model will be used to form a ceramic shell that will be cast in bronze at Studio West, an artistic foundry in Cochrane. 

“We could have had the bronze cheaper in Mexico, but it’s worth the effort to keep everything in Alberta,” Poulin said.

The St. Paul sculptor has worked on monumental works such as this one many times in the past, estimating that the current project is his thirteenth major monument. He has created pieces honouring the First Nations, Irish-Canadians and the Ukrainian diaspora.

“Every time I would hope that I would have the same blood as those I’m working for,” he said, describing the importance of a personal connection. At long last, he does have that opportunity to work on a sculpture honouring his own background.

“If this is my last project that I ever do, I’d feel very accomplished.”

For Poulin, a monument is more than just pretty public art.

“It brings you back to that era when it was made,” he said. “So, 150 years from now people will be able to look at this and see that francophones were living in Jasper, in Alberta.”