''Digital Orca'' is a 2009 sculpture of a

killer whale The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white pa ...

Douglas Coupland Douglas Coupland (born 30 December 1961) is a Canadian novelist, designer, and visual artist. His first novel, the 1991 international bestseller '' Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture'', popularized the terms ''Generation X'' and ''McJ ...

, installed next to the

Vancouver Convention Centre The Vancouver Convention Centre (formerly known as the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre, or VCEC) is a convention centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; it is one of Canada's largest convention centres. With the opening of the ne ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, British Columbia, Canada. The powder coated

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

sculpture on a

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

frame is owned by Pavco, a

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

of British Columbia which operates

BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

and the Vancouver Convention Centre.

History

The sculpture was installed in 2009 and commissioned by the city of Vancouver. In 2022, a group protesting the logging of

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

s in British Columbia spray painted landmarks around Vancouver, including ''Digital Orca''.

Description

The sculpture is located at

Jack Poole Plaza Jack Poole Plaza is a plaza in Vancouver's Coal Harbour neighborhood, in the British Columbia, Canada. The space is named after Jack Poole. The site is home to the cauldron A cauldron (or caldron) is a large pot (kettle) for cooking or boilin ...

in Vancouver, Canada. The sculpture depicts a killer whale created by black and white cubes. The sculpture has a steel armature and aluminum

cladding Cladding is an outer layer of material covering another. It may refer to the following: *Cladding (boiler), the layer of insulation and outer wrapping around a boiler shell *Cladding (construction), materials applied to the exterior of buildings ...

Reception

It was described as "both beautiful and bizarre" in ''

Architectural Design Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complic ...

''. John Ortved in ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' said the statue "grapples with modernization and the digital age" by making the killer whale less scary.

References

External links

* * 2009 establishments in British Columbia 2009 sculptures Aluminium sculptures in Canada Animal sculptures in Canada Coal Harbour Outdoor sculptures in Vancouver Stainless steel sculptures Steel sculptures in Canada Tourist attractions in Vancouver Whales in art Works by Canadian people {{Canada-sculpture-stub

History

Description

Reception

See also

References

External links