Vancouver statues get custom Canucks jerseys
Larger-than-life bronze sculptures in Vancouver have been outfitted with custom Canucks jerseys as the team returns home to gear up for the first game of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The West End art installation A-maze-ing Laughter has been a fixture at English Bay since 2009.
But this weekend some of the 14 figures – which stand about three metres tall and weigh in at over 250 kilograms each – got a makeover.
And it’s not clear who was responsible.
The installation is part of the City of Vancouver’s public art program but decking the laughing men out in blue and green wasn’t the city’s doing.
“The city did not install these jerseys,” an emailed response to a CTV News query reads.
“We have been showing our support of the Canucks in other ways throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including illuminating Burrard Bridge, City Hall and Bloedel Conservatory during Round 1 and proudly flying the Canucks flag at City Hall.”
This isn’t the first or only time during this playoff run that a massive jersey has mysteriously shown up on a local landmark. Last month, the giant stone statues guarding the entrance to the Lions Gate Bridge were similarly outfitted.
Artist Yue Minjun’s work was brought to the city as part of the Vancouver Biennieale. It was donated to the city in 2012 by Chip and Shannon Wilson through their family foundation.
“My intention when making this series of sculptures was to use art to touch the heart of each visitor and to have them enjoy what art brings to them,” Minjun said in a description of the artwork on the Vancouver Bienniale’s website.
The jerseys first showed up on the statues Saturday and were still there Sunday afternoon.
The Canucks play their next game Wednesday in Vancouver.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Family of toddler found dead at small-town Ont. daycare no closer to answers after year of investigation
A year has passed since two-year-old Vienna Irwin was found on the property of a home-based daycare in small-town Ontario, but her family says they are no closer to answers of what happened that day.
Fatal plane crash reported near Squamish, B.C.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has confirmed it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service after a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night.
Grayson Murray, two-time PGA Tour winner, dead at 30
Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray died Saturday morning at age 30, one day after he withdrew from the Charles Schwab Cup Challenge at Colonial.
Humboldt Broncos crash victims and families react to decision to deport truck driver
The family of one of the victims of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018 says they are 'thankful' for a decision by a Calgary immigration board to deport the driver of the truck involved.
Community mourns victims of fatal boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
The three people killed in last weekend's tragic collision between a speedboat and a fishing boat north of Kingston are being remembered Friday.
'God forgives but we don’t': Loud outburst from stabbing victim’s family during sentencing hearing
An emotional outburst in a London, Ont. courtroom Friday disrupted the sentencing hearing of a woman who pleaded guilty for her part in the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Abdallah.
Chiefs' Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in speech
Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker has no regrets about expressing his beliefs in a recent commencement speech and he said he has received support as well as “a shocking level of hate” from others.
American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat
American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a nine-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.
Three dead after vehicle plunged down a 100-foot embankment in Shediac, N.B.
Three people have died after a vehicle veered off the road in Shediac N.B., Friday morning.