First announced back in 2014, a massive spinning ornate chandelier is finally in the process of being installed under the Granville Bridge at Beach Avenue.
The large 4x6 metre kinetic sculpture is the work of Abbotsford-born artist Rodney Graham. It's sponsored by , and is affiliated with , the architecturally eye-catching development that made in 鶹ýӳlong before ground was even broken.
鶹ýӳHouse was designed by Bjarke Ingels, and the project overall was posited as being "Gesamtkunstwerk" or a "living sculpture." To that end, Graham's epic public art piece is meant to adorn the cathedral-like space of the bridge’s northern viaduct - much like welcoming people into a dazzling grand foyer that is being established in our urban landscape.
The chandelier will slowly rotate and rise over the course of 24 hours, then once a day release and dynamically spin back to its starting point. The design "extends from his 2005 film loop installation Torqued Chandelier Release in which a crystal chandelier whirls rapidly as its supporting cable is unwound," and its real-life iteration is a replica of what appears on film.
"[O]ur projects are not buildings, but rather they are the physical embodiment of culture," says Westbank. Of "Spinning Chandelier," the high profile developer says this reproduction 200-year-old French "chandelier will quickly become an urban landmark, turning a dark under-bridge into a civic event and a focal point, providing an additional layer of depth to the streetscape and the community."
Approved by 鶹ýӳcity council in December 2015, installation for the $1.2 million chandelier was expected to happen in 2017 or 2018.
However, installation finally began this November, and is expected to take another couple of weeks before it is complete.