In 2001, Binkley was invited to entered a competition to realize a public art sculpture in memory of Mark Hoggins. Hoggins, a noted White Rock resident and outdoorsman drowned tragically during a stormy sea kayaking trip earlier that year off the White Rock pier.
A group of friends of Hoggins joined together, wanting to commission a sculpture and donate it to the City of White Rock, BC, Canada. They held a closed competition of artists chosen by them. Binkley’s winning design now graces the western end of the seawall walk on Crescent Beach in White Rock.
Binkley’s sculpture depicts a breaking ocean wave with a kayaker surfing down one side and an orca surfing down the other side. The composition takes into account the risk of damage, and therefore no elements of the sculpture are unsupported by a large mass of stone. The technique is called High Relief and has been used for centuries in architectural applications of sculpture. Examples can be seen on ancient Greek and Roman temples and European Gothic cathedrals.
Binkley chose a block of glacier white granite which was quarried in Squamish, BC, Canada. This durable stone is impervious to the elements and man made pollutants. Binkley carved the sculpture during the spring of 2002 and it was installed on its pedestal and dedicated that summer.
Using raised surfaces and varied textures, Binkley has described the different parts of the subjects. Shadows develop to describe the white patches on the orca, and the kayaker and his craft emerge from the foam of the crashing ocean wave.
The unveiling and dedication ceremony was extended to the family and friends of Mark Hoggins, who were involved in the commissioning of the sculpture, as well as members of the community. The evening of August 21, 2002 was blessed by a beautiful sunset, an appropriate setting to honour Mark. There was also a contingent of sea kayakers in their crafts just off shore, to salute their lost companion.
