After a day of pressure washing and scrubbing, the whale mural in the Kingsway-Imperial neighbourhood will soon be graffiti free.
Just a few weeks after unveiling the global mural project, Connected Oceans, which was a concerted effort by artist Todd Polich, of the Earth Foundation, and local youth, the mural was defaced with a large graffiti tag that covered it from top to bottom on Tuesday.
“(It) was a panic for me to see the damage that was done,” Polich told the Burnaby NOW. “Today (Oct. 23) was dealing with it and fixing it.”
Polich was tending to the mural for several hours, and thanks to the coating he put overtop the mural, the graffiti was slowly but surely coming right off.
“It was really fortunate I put on a lot of protective coating,” he said. “I’ve never had to test it. This is the first time I had to test it. It’s holding up very, very well.”
Polich said the company that originally donated the lift to paint the mural, donated it once again so he could clean. He also received cleaning material for free from the community.
“I was getting text messages like crazy,” he added, from people who were outraged about the mural being defaced. “It was a beautiful thing that people really care and helped.
“People in the community are so happy it’s coming off.”
On Sept. 29, Polich and about 60 people braved the pouring rain to unveil the mural.
He worked with about 18 students at the South Burnaby Neighbourhood House youth leadership group on the mural’s development.
The project is part of an ocean conservation initiative in two other Pacific coast areas, Hawaii and Australia, where two other murals will go to show the unity of environmental efforts.
In April, the City of Burnaby gave a $3,500 grant for the mural to go towards its $9,300 cost.
As for Polich, he said he’s happy that the coating has protected the mural.
“I felt defeated yesterday (Oct. 22). Today I feel much, much better,” he added. “It’s such a cool project the kids got involved with, Children’s Hospital kids painted with us. It would be a horrible thing if it couldn’t get fixed. I’m elated.”
