“Giants,” Granville Island, Vancouver

I last visited Granville Island more than 10 years ago.  The island is located just south of the city of Vancouver and is surrounded by False Creek.  It’s situated under the Granville Bridge.  The island used to be an industrial area filled with mechanical shops and factories, but now has been gentrified and turned into a popular place for people to visit.  It has lots of interesting shops, restaurants, theaters, and is often crowded, especially on evenings and weekends.

A lot has changed since my last visit, which I’ll discuss in more depth soon, but one of the most interesting was the creation of the Giants.  Six silos belong to Ocean Concrete were painted for the 200th anniversary of Vancouver.(from my perspective I could see only 4 of the 6)  The silos are 70 feet tall and were painted by Brazilian twins, Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo, who have worked around the world.  The silos were chosen because they would add a three-dimensional quality to the street art as the images are painted all the way around each silo.  It took 14,000 cans of spray paint to complete the job. Three of the giants face False Creek and three face Granville Island.  The plan was to remove them after two years but because of their popularity, they will remain indefinitely.