A detail of Chen Wenling s bronze and steel sculpture Boy Holding A Shark (2021) due to be installed on the South False Creek Seawall in Vancouver
Residents of a Vancouver neighbourhood have organised a community petition asking the city to stop the installation of proposed sculpture for the Vancouver Biennale by the respected Chinese artist Chen Wenling, citing concerns about the work’s impact on real estate values and the ethnicity of the artist as factors. As of Monday (14 June), the deadline for submission of public input, the petition had 1,300 signatures. A final decision by the city is expected later this week.
The pieces were supposed to be on display until May 21, but were taken down just two days after being installed.
This isn’t the first time Vancouver’s public art scene has turned heads. The city has had its fair share of unusual installations, from upside-down buildings to gum-covered faces.
Below, check out five of Vancouver’s most eye-catching pieces of public art.
Device to Root Out Evil
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Dennis Oppenheim’s sculpture of an upside-down, New England-style church sat in Coal Harbour Park from 2006 to 2008.
Part of the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale, the piece was built with the church’s steeple pointed into the ground.