Photo: Matthew J. Vandeventer

After writing last week about the latest public art piece in the city, Vancouver Especially by Ken Lum, I started thinking about my favourite local public art installations. Just like Vancouver's ever-present mountains and ocean, it is easy to take something for granted once it is always there, but these public art installations always catch my attention and stir my emotions in some way. Here is some of Vancouver's best public art:

The East Van Cross - Ken Lum

Soaring high above the corner of Great Northern Way and Clark Drive, Ken Lum's East Van Cross is a large neon sign that can be seen across the city, near the entry point to East Vancouver. Originally a graffiti symbol that dates back to the 1950s, the East Van Cross has become an expression of defiance against the sterile gentrification of Vancouver.

Once a simple, working class neighbourhood, East Vancouver has become the cultural centre of the city and the chosen home of Vancouver's artists, restauranteurs and creatives in general. Although today the area faces challenges of poverty and crime, it stands apart from the rest of the city's cliched yoga pants wearing, seawall running, beach worshipping…you get the point. The East Van cross symbolizes defiance against conformity and the "norm."

A-maze-ing Laughter - Yue Minjun 

Former Lululemon CEO Chip Wilson loved this sculpture so much, he used his millions to give it a permanent home in Vancouver (a few years ago, it was going to be moved if the City could not come up with the funds to pay for it). Not everyone loves to see somewhat obnoxious looking, large bronze scupltures laughing in their face, but tourists get a kick out of it and it does add some whimsy to the city and makes most people smile.

The installation was created by Beijing-based artist Yue Minjun to depict his own iconic laughing image.

Girl in a Wetsuit - Elek Imredy

Sitting peacefully on a rock visible from the Stanley Park seawall, Girl in a Wetsuit is an iconic figure in Stanley Park. I remember when I was a kid, I always thought she was a mermaid for some reason. She represents the timeless Vancouver persona - calm, physically active and with a strong connection to the ocean and nature. Designed by Elek Imredy, the bronze sculpture was inspired by a famous Copenhagen Little Mermaid Statue, however when efforts to obtain licensing to replicate it failed, the artist created the more modern version in a wetsuit with flippers on her feet and a mask on her forehead. It actually depicts a friend of Imredy's, Debra Harrington.

Killer Whale - Bill Reid

Photo: Igor Solar

Famous Haida artist Bill Reid's Killer Whale fountain sits outside the entrance to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park. Like the Lady in the Water, I also have fond memories of playing near this bronzed orca as a child, but I don't think I fully appreciated its beauty until I was an adult. Unveiled in 1984, the sculpture is a reminder of the city's First Nations heritage and one of our province's most beautiful creatures, who still roam our harbours from time to time (including last week). In Haida culture, the Orca is the "Lord" and guardian of the ocean.

Terry Fox - Douglas Coupland

The new Terry Fox Memorial near BC Place Stadium was designed by renowned local author and Fox family friend Douglas Coupland. It was created to honour Canada's hero, Terry Fox, a young man from Metro Vancouver who, after losing his leg to cancer in 1977, decided to run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research. I like this piece because it illustrates Terry in motion, which is how most people remember him, running his Marathon of Hope. Also, it is a vast improvement from its predecessor, a pink archway with Terry's reflection in it. Unfortunately, there is a giant screen behind the sculpture that shows advertisements (although now they sometimes show videos related to Terry). I have written about this in the past and still hope that one day BC Place Stadium considers moving the massive screen.

EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT - Martin Creed

Martin Creed's Work No. 851: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT is perched six storeys high atop the Wing Sang Building, the oldest building in Vancouver's historic Chinatown. It was permanently installed there in 2008 by Vancouver real estate mogul, Bob Rennie as part of his art collection and gallery. According to the Rennie Collection, this "public gesture coming from the heart of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (known as one of the poorest postal codes in Canada) celebrates optimism amidst the pervasive - and often exaggerated - negativity found within many of the messages we routinely encounter, offering hope for the future."

The sign can also be seen from the city's Skytrain as you enter or leave downtown. I have looked at it many times after a crappy day at work and found its message reassuring and true.