MEETING OF TWO WORLDS SCULPTURE

The dramatic art piece, the “Meeting of Two Worlds”, is a sculpture that was developed in two separate pieces as a means of interpreting the historical significance of L’Anse aux Meadows. The two pieces, which symbolically correspond to the geographic points of departure and landing of the Vikings, come together to form an archway over the walking trail that takes visitors to the archaeological site, where they can see for themselves the place the Vikings first set foot.

This meeting of the two pieces represents the meeting of two very different worlds and two very different cultures, that of the Europeans and of the Indigenous North American cultures whom they encountered.

Created by Luben Boykov and Richard Brixel, their idea for this beautiful sculpture came from the preparations being undertaken by Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000 as the province prepared to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the Vikings arrival. Through the sponsorship support generated by the forming of a sculpture committee, the Historic Sites Association of Newfoundland and Labrador contributed $45,000 to the execution of this sculpture. Additional support for this project came from Parks Canada and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Anthony Insurance, Aliant, Persona Communications, Historica, Voisey’s Bay, and Imperial Oil.