As you travel through historic Dublin, you’ve probably been aware of some changes taking place at the corner of Bridge and High Street. You might have even noticed that part of the plaza is segmented off and secured. Curiosity piqued? The construction you’ve seen is preparation for the installation of the city’s newest public artwork; a sculpture deeply rooted in Dublin’s history.

Daily Chores, created by local artist Mike Tizzano, will be installed this week, April 15-16 on the lower level of the BriHi plaza. This figurative bronze and stone sculpture commemorates the historic town pump that sat in the middle of the intersection of Bridge and High streets in the early 1900s. The original pump served as a community water source as well as a neighborhood gathering place.

Many of you had the opportunity to watch Daily Chores come to life in front of your eyes at the Dublin Rec Center. This unique experience to view live sculpting over an eight-month time period allowed the community to see each stage of the process, engage on a one-on-one level with the artist and learn more about the history and meaning behind the sculpture.

Now that the sculpting and casting is complete, what’s next? Excavation and plumbing have been addressed in order to secure the sculpture’s water feature and the footer has been poured to serve as reinforcement to support the sculpture. Back at the foundry, a water test has been completed to ensure that the water feature functions accordingly. Final adjustments have been made to the bronze elements to ensure they fit correctly with the limestone trough. Next stop: Dublin – and installation.

The completed sculpture features two barefoot children dressed in period clothing, with a six-year-old boy struggling to operate the pump while his 13-year-old sister sits on the edge of the horse trough, holding a pail to collect the water. As Tizzano describes the scene,  “… she loses her focus and allows the pail to overflow…”

Stay tuned for pictures of the installation and an interview with artist Michael Tizzano that will be featured in the Dublin Art in Public Places Cell Phone Tour.   Want to learn more? Visit the Dublin Rec Center’s Abbey Theater lobby to view the original ¼ scale clay maquette and a slideshow of the history and evolution of the artistic process.

Daily Chores will be dedicated June 5 at 5:30 p.m. in historic Dublin.