The artist behind a massive art installation of queen bees in an industrial area of South Vancouver says they wanted to add “a little magic” to the daily commuter’s days.
The ‘Queen BX1000’ was created with recycled materials by a Montreal-based street artist who goes by the name Junko. They say it’s their biggest piece yet.
It’s a nearly five-metre statue on a vacant plot of land near the Fraser River, visible from both the Canada Line SkyTrain station — between Bridgeport and Marine Drive stations — and the nearby Canada Line bike path.
Junko told CBC News the installation was made with recycled car parts and plastics on a giant wooden frame, all of which were salvaged from the Metro Vancouver area.
The facility sits on a vast vacant lot near the Fraser River, visible from both the SkyTrain and the nearby bike path. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)
“I like the idea of someone just commuting and seeing it in the distance and just catching a glimpse of it for a second.” “Just like this little magical moment in the middle of this industrial area where, you know, you don’t really see a lot of art or anything similar.’
CBC News has agreed to keep Junko’s identity confidential at their request to preserve the anonymity of their art.
Junco’s work in Montreal is also primarily made up of reclaimed, recycled material. This is their first installation on the West Coast, but they said their process is the same as in Montreal — letting the city’s piles of trash inform their work.
“I have little experience in sustainable construction. It is economical as well as environmentally friendly. It’s kind of a process that I’ve developed over time.
“I walk or ride my bike, I just look at the ground and see what I think, I collect things that I find, then I put them together and try to create something with them.”
“I have a lot of funny looks”
The installation took more than a month to produce, according to Junko. They said recycling practices in Vancouver are a little different than in Montreal, so it took them a while to find the materials they needed.
“It’s a very clean city,” they said, laughing. “I deal with my waste in a certain way.”
in video posted on their Instagram account, Junko showed them driving to a garage in Vancouver and picking up the bright yellow car parts that form the bulk of the queen bee statue.
“During my search for materials and whatnot, I found a garage that operated yellow taxi cars. They had a whole bunch of yellow car bumpers they were throwing away.
“I was thinking about different animals and obviously a yellow creature came to mind… I always want to convey a certain type of shape or a certain type of character. With that, it’s obviously themed around a bee.”
The artist said they received “a lot of funny looks” while transporting materials to the South Vancouver site on their bikes, but no one ever interfered with their process or had any problems designing the piece, other than some curious pedestrians and bikers.
They said they don’t have a specific message to share with the piece, but hope people will think about wildlife and recycling as they form their own interpretations.
Land owned by TransLink
TransLink, Metro Vancouver’s transit authority, owns the land on which the Queen BX1000 sits, according to land registry documents.
The City of Vancouver said in a statement that it had not received any calls from the landowner or residents about the piece.
A TransLink spokesperson told CBC News the piece “looks very cool” but did not order it.
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