Hours of the Day
Paul Raff Studio was commissioned by Infrastructure Ontario to create a permanent monument recognizing the contributions of correctional services staff to Ontario’s justice system. Without listing individual names, the Correctional Workers’ Monument honours the collective work and varied roles within the province’s custodial operations.
The monument is organized around themes drawn from the professional lives of Ontario’s 6,000 correctional workers. Central among these is time, understood as a shared and continuous experience shaped by hours, days, and years of steady public service. This idea is expressed through systems of measurement and recording, and through the coming together of many individual parts to form a whole. The central sculpture, titled Hours of the Day, embodies these concepts.
A composed arrangement of elements defines the site. The sculpture rises from a granite pedestal bearing a dedication inscription, flanked by two granite benches that frame a focused, contemplative space. Integrated into the surrounding lawn, gardens, and walkways, the monument supports quiet reflection and public ceremony. Its vertical form establishes a strong presence at a distance while offering finer detail up close.
Constructed in bronze and stainless steel, the sculpture conveys durability and permanence. The granite pedestal and benches, finished in two textures, ground the composition, with a time capsule embedded within the base.
Hours of the Day is a bronze and stainless steel sculpture that traces time through the pages of a solar calendar.
Time is framed as a unifying metaphor for the patient, steadfast years of dedicated public service.
The sculpture and granite benches create an intimate space for quiet reflection and a focused setting for public ceremony.
