The ever-looming presence that watches over Nova Scotia’s Highway 103 — a pair of large boulders painted as eyes — will soon be no more.
The “eyeball rocks” that sit on the left side of the road between exits 7 and 6 heading toward Halifax will be blasted as the province prepares to twin the highway. “I’m kind of sad to see them go, but if they got to go, they got to go,” said Jason Smith, one of the original artists behind the eyes.
Smith and his friend Neil created the artwork with their kids in October 2017, when the side of the highway was cleared and the rocks were exposed. Until now, the creators haven’t been publicly identified, although Smith said Neil prefers to remain anonymous.
“I’ve never seen a better canvas for rock art anywhere than when those popped out,” Smith said, adding that he called Neil immediately and they hatched a plan before someone else got the chance.
He said the rocks weren’t originally going to be eyes, but emojis. The group of six made a Saturday of it, painting the background blue and then yellow circles — before an off-duty highway supervisor from Public Works showed up.
That put a damper on things, Smith said, so they left for the day. A few days later when they returned, someone had added graffiti to the rocks so they cleaned that up.
And while they were doing that, they were struck by the fact that the boulders looked like eyes. That’s when they added the two pupils.
“We stood back and it started coming to life … and it just kind of, it had a personality after that.” The painted rocks have become a beloved unofficial landmark, not unlike others along Highway 103: from a cartoon frog to a cat painted in Maud Lewis’s signature style.
Smith says he’s not responsible for any other pieces of highway art — just the eyes — which he and Neil have maintained and touched up over the years.
He also isn’t responsible for painting red bloodshot lines on the eyes when cannabis was legalized in Canada in 2018, but he’d like to know who did it.
“We laughed and we laughed and laughed. We let it be for a while and then decided that they needed the Visine treatment,” he said.
Plans to blast the boulders have been in the works for months, but a photograph of them posted on Facebook last month with details about their demise prompted strong reactions.
“It is sad that they cannot do something like finding a way to saw them off the base rock to move them. A community treasure like that should be preserved,” one Facebook user wrote.
“I love these rocks, when I [see] them I know my exit is just around the corner and that makes me smile. Sad to see them go,” someone else commented.
Original artist tells story of Nova Scotia’s ‘eyeball rocks’
Others were optimistic.
“Maybe when they get the road cleared, there might be another big rock further back for someone to do another painting,” wrote another person.
Gary Andrea, spokesperson with the Department of Public Works, said the rocks are expected to be broken up later this month.
Construction has already begun near the highway and has been inching closer to the rocks.
“We understand that these rocks are special to many people who drive Highway 103, and we did look at ways to preserve them. Unfortunately, if they were left in place they would present a distraction and a significant safety concern,” said Andrea.
“The safety of Nova Scotia drivers will continue to be our number one priority as we work to twin this section of highway.”
Smith said it’s upsetting that the rocks will be blasted, but he and Neil would like to be there when it happens.
“If they’re gonna blow them up, that would be fun to push the button anyways,” he said with a laugh.
It will be something he tells his grandchildren about, he said.
“The legend lives on in pictures and memories and sometimes, sometimes those are better, right?”
Smith said he and Neil watched the attention the eyes got over the years, but they “remained in the shadows because the anonymity of the artists was kind of fun for us.”
He said they only decided to come forward when they heard the rocks would be destroyed.
“We wanted it to be something that would make people laugh and it certainly did that, so I’m quite proud of that,” Smith said.
Smith said he didn’t expect all the love the rocks got over the years, but he’s thankful for everyone who enjoyed them.
“Thank you for the support. I hope it put a smile on people’s faces because that was the intent.”
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