During my last visit to Vancouver my friend, Harry, took me for a walk around the city to include some of his favorite spots. One of these was this fun statue called A-Maze-ing Laughter. A bronze created by Yue Minjun in 2009, the piece was loaned to the city for its 2010 Winter Olympic celebrations. The sculpture quickly became very popular with Vancouverites and was purchased and donated to the City of Vancouver by Chip and Shannon Wilson in 2012.
The artwork is located in Morton Park along English Bay. It consists of 14 separate figures, each 3 meters tall, created in the artist’s own image while laughing. There’s a separate concrete bench inscribed, “May this sculpture inspire laughter, playfulness and joy in all who experience it.”
We hung around the sculpture for about 15 minutes and were amazed at how many people stopped by. Many posed for a photo by one of the figures and in everyone the artwork brought out a smile, often with a mimic of one of the figure’s positions. It’s a great talent and gift to make grown people become child-like.
