ABSTRACT
The graphic design on the cover of BC Hydro’s (British Columbia Hydro) Annual Report – in routine corporatist style – shows the Queen’s Baton, as if in motion, in action even. The Baton was the defining logo for the 1994 Commonwealth Games held in Victoria; the power utility was a major sponsor of the Games, and thus of the Baton; and the theme of the Games was ‘Catch the Spirit’. The Queen’s Baton is to the Commonwealth Games what the Torch is to the Olympics, public authenticator of the proceedings and defining logo. For the Games in Victoria, BC Hydro’s sponsorship extended to the trans-Canada relay, indicating an understanding that the significance of the Baton extends far beyond the materiality of the thing itself. The art nexus makes it possible to think about the airport long-house as both agent and patient, and the Queen’s Baton as both active and passive with relation to BC Hydro.
