Digital Orca By Douglas Coupland

I just walked by this the other day on my walk around the city from the Food Cart Festival. It was one of the few times I wish that I was able to take a pic of it. I liked it ’cause it reminded me of those large 80’s Nintendo video games… heavily pixelated… just bigger. It was like being in the Pixels movie (okay bad comparison, however, you get the idea). I love how art like this makes our city look cool.

This sculpture is actually quite cool. In the day and age of all things electronic and computers and the internet, it’s cool to see an integration between an old consistent natural image of an Orca whale bursting the the surface of the water and the newer technique of digital pixelation of the image we see so often on our electronic devices.
I came back at night and the image is illuminated within with LED lights that twinkle ever so slightly to bring a different visual air to the image almost making it a completely different composition.
It’s definitely something to see if you’re passing by or near the Olympic Cauldron as I’ve never seen a sculpture like this before.

The Digital Orca is definitely cooler than the Olympic Flame. It also was the only Orca I saw when I was in the region.
If you are in the area at 9 p.m., you will hear the 9 o’clock cannon. It’s not gunfire! Seriously! People were freaking out pretty bad about it when we were there.

Very cool piece of art, saw a lot of kids around thinking it’s made out of giant Legos ! If your kid is a Lego lover, (like me, and I won’t lie that’s why I took the walk from Granville and Davie where I was staying to see it !)this might be a great way to get your child to appreciate outdoor art or art in general !!

This is a great area to hang out on your lunch break to admire the view and this public art piece by Douglas Coupland. The author of Generation X and other books. After reading the nearby information sign, this supposed to be a pixelized version of the local orcas that are often seen swimming around Vancouver. Not really in Coal Harbour (too much traffic) but in the Salish Sea beside Vancouver Island where there is food for them. It is always nice to this amazing piece of art to brighten up the work day. His next art project is a golden version the hollow tree in Stanley Park that will be located beside Marine Drive Station and Cambie Street.

I haven’t been to Vancouver pre-​Olympics, so I can’t say anything about what was around before, but the public art scene in this town is incredible.
My favorite, absolute favorite piece, is the Digital Orca by the Convention Centre. Part trompe l’oeil, part ‘killer’ photo op, this piece is not to be missed. I made multiple trips back to see this fun, gigantic whale.
Oh, and I know this part is obvious, but the Transient Orca is kind of an awesome species.
Interestingly enough, the Olympic torch is directly adjacent, but far less popular. This is easily evidenced by the numerous groups that can be found around the Orca.
Bravo, Vancouver.