It might look like a pile of rubble, but a new installment in downtown Vancouver is actually a piece of art.
At first glance, the lot full of rocks on Georgia Street outside of the Shangri-La Hotel appears to be nothing more than debris from one of the city’s countless construction sites.
But passersby who study it for more than a few seconds slowly start to notice the entire landscape is gently shifting, giving the appearance of an optical illusion.
“Oh! Okay, that’s kind of weird, how it’s kind of moving,” said one pedestrian who walks by the installment every day.
The piece, titled “Calm,” was created by a Chinese artist collective called MadeIn.
The bricks and debris were harvested from a renovated Vancouver synagogue, and the installment was placed at the lot – actually the Vancouver Art Gallery’s outdoor exhibition place, Offsite.
“You don't notice it if you're just walking by or driving by – you need to spend 30 seconds with it. I think any artist deserves at least 30 seconds,” said VAG assistant curator Diana Freundl. “Some people love it, some hate it.”
That’s exactly the point – an art piece should strike a chord with its viewers, according to Freundl.
“It's important for a public work to kind of have that resonance with the public,” she said.
Another pedestrian who stopped to view the mirage-like installment said, “It's not just rocks, it’s more than that…It's really cool.”
The piece will remain in place until the end of September.
