Transit riders passing through the Millennium Line’s Lafarge Lake–Douglas Station can now enjoy a striking six-image series titled Botanical Ice Tiles.

Vancouver-based artist Cherry Archer achieved the dreamlike look on these photographs by suspending plant materials in ice and illuminating them with coloured light.

She then photographed the tiles over several sessions, experimenting with light, colour combinations and varying frost patterns that form on the tile surface each time it exits the freezer.

You can appreciate these details in the enlarged photographs displayed at the station’s windows, where natural daylight highlights their true colours and tones.

Here’s the story behind every photograph:

La Récolete 226, 2022

Celebrating the end of autumn and harvest time in the Pacific Northwest. As hues of leaves deepen, late fruit and flowers will cling to branches and sustain wildlife deep into winter. The landscape will change inevitably — where moss grows plump with autumn rains and frozen bare earth marinates new growth, stirring underground.

Ascension 53, 2025

Seed sprouts as thinly weft as strands of hair perk up and push through layers of heavy soil in a relentless mission to reach the light. Mimicking the slow-motion urgency of plants yearning to soak in the sun, Ascension 53 imagines the timid beginnings of plant life through unfurling petals and leaves.

Deep Seeded Glory 31, 2022

Soft-spoken and tired autumn leaves, seed pods, fruits and dried grasses fall to the ground. Desiccated and crisp, the prizes of the season past create a royal carpet, adorning streets of grey asphalt with the glow of fallen autumn colours.

Budburst 224, 2024

Exemplifies this ornamental approach. Glass-like petals unfurl as the melt of spring wisps away cold bites of winter, welcoming new beginnings. Delicate yet resilient early blooms sweeten the scent of early spring air and eagerly offer nurture to young critters from bugs to birds, sacrificing their pure beauty to seed and feed new generations of life.

Adrift 210, 2025

Lush green spores and knotted threads of moss emerge through the cracks of winter and spring. The web of vibrant green acts as an intricate world of its own, where the little moss traveler drifts along on a journey through stages of life while thawing botanicals shiver, eager to emerge into the warmth of spring.

 

Waning Golden Hour 668, 2023

Summer evenings stretch golden sunlight over the garden. Reminiscing on the whimsies of childhood, Cherry Archer freezes fleeting moments of warmth, memory, and story found between petals and sweet nectar. Over the garden wall, darkness settles in and fireflies flutter among a maze of city lights.

 

About the artist

Rooted in ecopsychology, Cherry Archer’s work reflects on how engagement with nature supports mental and emotional well-being. Her Botanical Ice Tiles (2021-) series transform plants collected during local walk or from her garden into translucent ice-bound forms that shift through an unpredictable process. The use of colour plays an essential role in the recording process, revealing subtle details of these changing conditions and shaping how we perceive transformation within each composition.

Presented by The Gallery at Evergreen Arts and TransLink. Curated by Katherine Dennis, Curator, The Gallery at Evergreen Arts

Check out more art on transit using our public art map.

Visit The Gallery at Evergreen Arts, located steps away from Lafarge Lake – Douglas SkyTrain Station, to learn more about the artist and this artwork.

The Gallery is open Wednesday from 12–5 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 12–6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12–5 p.m. Admission is free.