November, 2024: Installed in 2001, Salmon Waves is a series of seven stainless steel sculptures by PAUL SOREY. Located on the plaza next to the Ballard Locks in Seattle, the work celebrates the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ installation of a fish ladder that allows the essential annual passage of salmon to take place. The multifaceted metal waves end in neat curlicues and, together with a surface finish reminiscent of ripples on water, the piece is evocative of rolling sea swells. Sorey integrated a row of flashing LED lights into each wave to create the illusion of smolt (juvenile salmon) as they swim from the freshwater of Lake Washington to the saltwater of Puget Sound.
