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Some statue stomping required as Deep Cove public art gets facelift

North Van District workers stood the act of art installation on its head to get the statues back in place.

After an about-face of some the landscape architecture on Gallant Avenue in Deep Cove, a pair of heady statues were re-installed in their home of 30 years.

On May 6, a crew of workers used some unconventional techniques – including jumping in the air and stamping down with both feet – to put back a longstanding public art piece in front of the Deep Cove Cultural Centre.

“Don’t break it,” half-joked Greg Kawczynski, who created the sculptures after being commissioned by the District of North Vancouver.

Originally installed in 1992, Who's Got The Umbrella depicts two heads in conversation. The statues are made of marble from a quarry on Vancouver Island.

The work accompanied the opening of the Deep Cove Cultural Centre in March of that year, explained Cultural Society co-ordinator Eileen Smith.

“When Greg and his wife Eva ... originally put them in, [Eva] told me that the idea of the sculpture was to protect the children and the people in Deep Cove – they’re watching over us.”

“They’re kind of looking at themselves, actually,” Smith laughed.

A few months ago, the heads were removed after North Vancouver District decided to remove the water feature that used to be their home.

But revamping the landscape gave local artist Kawczynski the opportunity to give his creations a makeover, and he was there at the reinstallation to make sure their heads were on straight.

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