Calls grow for Vancouver to leave spider alone

While the City of Vancouver has said it’s working to figure out how best to remove “unsanctioned spider artwork” that popped up under a local bridge, calls are now growing for staff to leave it where it is.

Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung is among those joining calls for the city to leave the arachnid alone.

“Like to see City let Junko Playtime spider art Phobia stay where it is for people to enjoy for a while,” she wrote on Twitter Monday. “Artists like this choose specific sites for a reason. Vancouver has enough serious issues to deal with without rushing to sanitize every bit of whimsy.”

Many online have also called for the piece to remain, with some comments pointing to the city’s decision as the latest example of it being “no fun.”

“The @CityofVancouver was looking at ways to be more fun in a recent article. This is a pretty bad start. Leave it and pay the artist but No Fun City strikes again,” @RyanDoell31 wrote last week.

“If it’s not hurting anything I think they could leave it right up there and we’d certainly enjoy it,” said Mark Bransko, who lives in the area where the spider was installed, told CityNews previously.

“I love it, I think it’s great. I think Vancouver needs more amazing artists and more public displays of amazing art. It’s just more of the things I love about this city,” added Fostine DeRosiee, who was walking by the spider Friday.

Coun. Peter Meiszner tells JACK 96.9 he’s “pro-spider” — both the arachnid and the art — but admits whether the sculpture gets to stay put is still up in the air.

“The issue with it … is it didn’t go through the public arts process — we have a process for a reason. One of the reasons is that, with this particular location, it is over an active rail line. So there’s considerations there in terms of the way it needs to be secured, and also, we do have to get permission from BNSF — that’s the American company that actually owns that rail line,” he told morning hosts Drex and Lena Tuesday.

“Once I heard about it and saw a lot of the public feedback and, personally, I just think it’s a great piece of public art, I asked the city manager to investigate how we could potentially either keep it or find an appropriate location for it. We’ll work with the artist in order to keep it because we got it for free essentially. It may not be installed where the city wants or exactly how it needs to be installed, but it is an amazing piece of public art.”

A giant spider sculpture popped up under an East Vancouver bridge in March. The city has said it’s looking to remove the piece due to concerns, but calls are growing for the piece to stay. (CityNews Image)

Despite some of the concerns around how it was installed, Meiszner says in addition to the piece visually, he’s also a fan of the “surprise of it” and how it was made.

“I think it’s so creative — it’s made with 100 per cent recyclable material, it’s sustainable, it’s got everybody talking in the city. I’d say the majority of people really like it. For the arachnophobes out there — I understand where they’re coming from. It is under the bridge and it’s in the cut, so if you don’t want to look at it you don’t have to,” he said.

“I’m sure that we can find a more appropriate space for it and I’m delighted to hear that the artist would love to keep it in Vancouver.”

Junko Playtime is also pushing for the piece to be saved. Taking to social media over the weekend, the Montreal-based artist urged followers to “Help save spidey!”

“The City of Vancouver announced they are planning to remove ‘Phobia’ due to some complaints from the public. Unfortunately, this is the only opinion that has been expressed to them and they do not see the positive response it has been getting both online and in person. By dropping them a quick message (link in bio) you can help change their mind!” an Instagram post reads.

Junko Playtime posted images of the sculpture in its new habitat on March 15. The caption of the post includes the words “phobia” along with “time to face our fears.”

While there have been some calls for the eight-legged creature to be left as it is, the art piece took many people by surprise when it first popped up.

“I hate it. Burn the bridge,” one person wrote online.