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Residents push back against new location for Trans Am Rapture art installation
Social Sharing A towering sculpture made of crushed cars and an old-growth cedar trunk is being installed at a new site in Vancouver but some residents say the city has rolled it into the neighbourhood without proper notice or consideration. The 10-metre-tall artwork, formerly known as Trans Am Totem and renamed Trans Am Rapture, is being relocated to the south end of the Granville Bridge within Granville Loop Park. Originally installed near Science World in 2015 as part of the Vancouver Biennale, the piece was created by artists Marcus Bowcott and Helene Aspinall as a commentary on car culture and how urban life is compounding pressures on the environment. It was meant to be temporary, but became a permanent part of the city's public art collection with a $250,000 donation from billionaire Chip Wilson. It was removed from its original location in August 2021 due to weathering and pigeon infestation. Nearly four years later, its relocation is drawing backlash with some residents saying it doesn't belong in a quiet residential area. "They're treating our neighbourhood as a storage locker for a piece of art they don't know what to do with," said Darlene Forst, who lives across the street from the installation site and started an online petition against the move. Forst said she only learned about the installation a couple of days ago through a notice that arrived in the mail. She believes the city should have consulted with residents before approving a decade-long placement of the piece. "It's gigantic and dominating," she said. "It's going to change the feeling of the neighbourhood from…family friendly and it's going to make it edgy and really not friendly." She also raised concerns about the sculpture's past problems, including bird infestation, which led to rusting, peeling paint and bird droppings. "I will just see a bunch of crushed cars, which … is going to end up being covered in birds and rusting and dropping guano all over the grass and killing the grass." According to the city, the original site is no longer viable due to planned viaduct redevelopment. The new location was selected through its public art program, which includes internal reviews and consultation with the artists and local First Nations. "Public consultation is not a standard practice for individual public art installations," the city said in a statement to CBC News. "We recognize the subjective nature of art, and that not every artwork will be liked by everyone." The city acknowledged that some residents first learned of the installation through media reports and said a formal public announcement and community notification are forthcoming. Another neighbour, Patrick May, said he appreciates the artwork's message but questions its fit in the area. "Do I need to be reminded about conservation and consumerism every day I walk out of my house? Maybe not," he said. Bowcott said he understands the concerns, especially around the bird issue, but stands by the message behind Trans Am Rapture. "It's been controversial. A lot of people love it. A lot of people hate it," said Bowcott. "We're thrilled that it's going up … and that the city is doing a really good job of bird-proofing it." He called the artwork a "cultural commentary," noting the cedar base symbolizes the region's lost old-growth forests. "The cars are on top of an old-growth column," said Bowcott. "The environment at 4th and Granville used to be those old-growth cedars and Douglas firs."
