So-called graffiti artists left their mark on three murals in one night – and they seem to be proud of it.
Taggers wrote “3 Murals 1 Night” next to their spraypainted nicknames on one of the three murals, located near the Royal Oak SkyTrain station. Todd Polich, a local artist who designed the murals, said he was notified Monday morning that they were defaced likely sometime Sunday night.
“I got lots of emails and phone calls and texts from people,” he said.
Graffiti now adorns his 220-foot Connected Oceans mural, which illustrates a number of majestic humpback whales swimming in the sea. The colour of the water fades slightly from green (representing Western Canada’s waters) to blue (representing the South Pacific), showcasing the distance that the whales cover around the world.
“The humpback whales represent global travellers of the ocean, and they’re a perfect example of the interconnectivity of ecosystems,” said Polich. “The mural was painted to show the oceans being connected and to represent that what we do on one coast will affect the coastline of other continents throughout the world.”
That mural was designed as part of a youth program called the Art of Empowerment. Polich painted it with 18 students from the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House, as well as patients from B.C. Children’s Hospital.
This isn’t the first time Polich’s whale mural has been graffitied: In October, vandals sprayed over the mural from top to bottom, just a week after it was unveiled. Polich, however, had the foresight to put a protective coating over the mural and was able to pressure wash and scrub the tags off.
But this time, he’s unsure he can erase the damage.
“It might be a different kind of paint,” he said. “It’s a different time of the season – it’s warmer out, so the paint could have adhered more. But I’m very hopeful that it can be removed and restored.”
Polich said it’s disappointing that someone would graffiti over murals – not just because it can ruin artwork, but because it misses the point of putting the piece together.
“I feel like maybe the message isn’t really being understood,” he said. “This is something that has a deeper meaning than just art – the whole intention of all the murals I do is to promote people working to protect the environment, and getting children and youth involved in this.”
Anyone interested in participating in a team cleanup is asked to email Polich at [email protected].
