World Stage: Markham is a monumental interactive digital artwork by Dominic Harris, transforming the Canadian flag into a living system of hand-painted butterflies. Suspended in a virtual holographic space, the butterflies are given the freedom to fly, scatter, and regroup — responding in real time to the movements of passers-by in Downtown Markham.

In World Stage: Markham, Dominic Harris reimagines the Canadian flag as a dynamic swarm of digitally hand-painted butterflies, fluttering across a major permanent video wall facade.  From a distance, the formation is precise — the iconic red-and-white maple leaf emblem rendered with captivating detail. As people walk by, the artwork responds in real time to both their movement and their touch. The butterflies scatter and return, dispersing in poetic formations that reflect the energy of urban life. At the top of every hour, the artwork undergoes a ceremonial transformation into radiant gold, while a central butterfly beats in rhythm with the passing time.

A town square is not just a location — it’s a stage. And in Markham, a city shaped by diversity, technology, and transformation, the artwork becomes a mirror for the collective identity that gathers beneath it. Each gesture — a pause, a child’s run, the wave of a hand — becomes part of the performance. At the top of every hour, the flag enters a golden state of unity and rhythm, as a central butterfly beats its wings in time with the day. This is not simply a flag to be observed — it is a flag to be inhabited, activated, and shaped.