On the wall of the Yukon Arts Centre Public Gallery, five tape measurers sit in a row on the floor, the tape from each drifting up and down the wall, each with its own timing, each making an occasional snap.

The piece, titled The Race, was done by Jean-Pierre Gauthier, a Montreal artist and 2004 Sobey Art Award winner.

It's part of the Sobey Art Award exhibit currently on display at the gallery as part of a tour. The travelling will eventually see the pieces on display in Victoria, Toronto, Regina and Montreal.

The exhibit featuring Gauthier's work also showcases the other four finalists in the art award contest.

Gauthier described The Race as a reflection of the competition for the Sobey Award, which sees the winner receive $50,000.

'Five of them were, for me, kind of a representation of the five finalists, but at the end you'll see drawings will be all interesting, but they all will be different and have their own specific qualities,' Gauthier said in an interview at the gallery Thursday afternoon.

'For me, that was the idea behind that, to start off with five objects, five measuring tapes, that are similar, but in a way, at the end, end up quite making different patterns and drawings.'

He pointed out that with the measuring tapes, there's no winner; they all end up making interesting patterns.

'It's also about the repetitiveness of some things, the use, something that gets used up because (the measuring tapes) don't last long; before two months, they break after we place them,' he said.

The piece enabled him to work with objects, giving them their own personality.

Gauthier was on-hand for the Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours event held at the arts centre in honour of Donald Sobey, chairman emeritus of Empire Company. He was in town for the opening of the national tour, which also featured the work of finalists Althea Thauberger of Vancouver, Marcel Dzama of Winnipeg, Germaine Koh of Toronto and Greg Forrest of Halifax.

Also at the event was Ray Cronin, curator of contemporary Art for the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, which is circulating the exhibition.

The Empire Co. owns grocery store chains (including Sobeys, IGA, IGA Extra and Price Chopper), and is involved in real estate through Crombie Properties Ltd. and Empire Theatres.

The Sobey Art Award, which was established in 2002 by the Sobey Art Foundation, is presented every two years to a Canadian artist under the age of 39.

The foundation was created in 1980 to carry on Frank Sobey's, who was Donald Sobey's father, work in collecting and preserving Canadian art. The artwork he collected is on display at the former Sobey home, Crombie House, in Pictou County, N.S.

Since 1980, the foundation has continued to collect Canadian art. Several members of the Sobey family, including Donald Sobey, also have their own collections.

Donald Sobey said it was after university that he became interested in art, buying a few paintings. It's an interest that was passed down to him from his father, he said.

His most recent purchase was a painting by B.C. artist Peter Doig.

'He's getting even more recognition across the world,' Donald Sobey said.

Cronin noted the collection housed at Crombie House is among the best Canadian art collection in the country; certainly the best in the Atlantic provinces.

'It's one of the best collections outside of a public gallery in the country,' he said.

While the Crombie House collection goes back many years, the Sobey Art Award is still young.

'About three years ago, we came up with the idea the trustees came up with the idea that perhaps we should have an award,' Donald Sobey said.

A director with the National Art Gallery suggested having an award for Canadian artists under the age of 40.

'So that's how we designed it,' Donald Sobey said. 'It's really gone faster and further than we thought a great success.'

Already, work has begun on the call for nominations for the 2006 edition of the competition, Cronin said.

The award selection begins with five curators from five regions of the country bringing forward a shortlist of five artists from their region. The jurisdictions include the west coast/Yukon, Prairies/north, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

The five curators, including Cronin, then pick the five finalists one from each region in the show.

'This (exhibit) just shows how difficult it was to pick one winner because all five of them are just phenomenal,' Cronin said.

The touring exhibit will travel throughout the country, but the first stop is at the local arts centre gallery.

'Whitehorse, for me and for all of us, was the idea of having a truly national event,' Cronin said. 'We're from the Maritimes; we're used to getting ignored by the rest of the country.'

Having the tour visit Whitehorse sends the right message: the award isn't just about going to the big cities, but rather making it a 'sea-to-sea-to-sea' pan-Canadian event, he said.

'So when Scotiabank came on as a sponsor, they loved the idea of it coming up here and it just worked out,' Cronin said.

Scotiabank is a major sponsor of the event.

While the exhibit is designed to showcase the artist's work, the $50,000 prize isn't based on the work featured in the show, he said. The prize is based on the artist's whole body of work.

'It's a very difficult thing to arrive at, as you can imagine,' Cronin said of selecting a winner.

At any one point, there could be 25, 30 or 40 artists in the country who could be deemed the best, he continued.

'But this is the one that five curators from across the country could agree on,' he said.

The whole idea of doing a show of the finalists' pieces came after the competition, he said.

'What we wanted to do was put the spotlight on contemporary art in Canada, and this does it,' Donald Sobey said.

'Some of it can be controversial, but it's interesting. I think the tour will help a great deal in doing that, bringing it right across the country.'

Cronin said some American galleries have also been inquiring about displaying the pieces.

The award helps to propel artists in their careers, he said.

Forrest, for example, has been picked up by a commercial dealer in Toronto and has sold some major pieces.

'For one artist, you get a life-changing event, but for all of the artists, they get a real career boost,' Cronin noted.

For Gauthier, the award has given him the chance to travel to Whitehorse and other areas where the exhibit will be showing. The tour provides exposure throughout Canada, not only for him but the other finalists as well, he said.

'The overall concept of the Sobey's Art Award showcase, like that, is a good thing for everyone, I think,' he said.

The $50,000-prize also provides Gauthier with some financial security for a year or two, he said.

'I don't rely on grant(s) for a while,' he said.

It's also meant more opportunities for more solo shows in bigger institutions, Gauthier said.

Next year, he's scheduled to have a solo show in Edmonton, with another major show set for 2007 in Montreal.

Gauthier was scheduled to leave Whitehorse today to fly to Edmonton for meetings about next year's show.

The exhibit will be on display in Whitehorse for approximately two months.