Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Sep 02/02) - In 1940, when author Ernest Hemingway wrote the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, he didn't have Iqalungmiut in mind.

But when John McKinnon was foraging at the dump last fall, he was thinking about city residents.

An artist who resides in Nelson, B.C., McKinnon was in Iqaluit last fall participating in stone sculpture and metal sculpture workshops. It was then he was inspired to create a bell for residents.

"I was working on the symposiums and going out to the dump and getting all kinds of metal and doing sculptures," said McKinnon.

"I discovered all these cylinders that made wonderful bells."

McKinnon began to experiment by sculpting objects that could move and make noise. That led him to create a large bell, hook it onto a stand and design a small human-like shaped figure to swing beside the bell.

He then had to decide where the finished product should be housed. He wanted a windy spot, that drew many residents and tourists. McKinnon struck gold when he found the perfect hill overlooking Frobisher Bay on the right hand side of the road heading into Apex.

"I wanted people to walk by and ring the bell. To me, it's got such a nice ring to it. It resonates for such a long time and it's so quiet there," said McKinnon.

"There's just something about the sound and how it carries as you're overlooking the bay," he said.

Beth Beattie, a local artist and the co-ordinator of the Nunavut Arts and Crafts Association, said when she first rang the bell, it brought art to life in a new way for her.

"The arts are ringing out," said Beattie, a friend of McKinnon's since he began teaching art in Northern communities in the 1980s.

Beth Biggs, the senior instructor of the fine arts and crafts program at Nunavut Arctic College, was equally appreciative of the piece.

"I think it's a funky object and it interacts with the inukshuks behind it," said Biggs. "I like that people could be out on a hike and come upon this. It's a mystery and playful. It's wonderful.