Despite some resistance from the community and its artists, the mural at the Pender Harbour Aquatic Centre has reached the end of its life.
The Pender Harbour Aquatic Society board has decided the mural must come down for structural reasons as part of overall upgrades to the pool building.
"The mural is to be removed from that wall. The decision was made some time ago, but what we've attempted to do is provide as much public input as we possibly could," said society board chair Gilbert Yard. "We know there are other opinions out there as to what they think should be done. If there were any alternatives, we would have looked at those."
Yard said in order to stop water ingress from deteriorating the wall, the mural will be ground off and the concrete wall underneath will be left bare. Previously, there was speculation that mould in the wall would be a problem, but Yard and Deb Cole, the facility manager, said that is not the case.
The plan for bare concrete replaces a previous plan to put tiles on the wall, which Yard said would face the same difficulties as paint.
Alec Smith, the architect working on the design for the improved pool building, confirmed that there was really no other option for the wall other than to grind the mural down. He said it's because it is just concrete separating the pool area from the outside and temperature and humidity differences mean there will always be water seeping through the wall.
"The strategy we've taken, which seems to be the most prudent one in these circumstances, is to try to allow the wall to breath. If you have a paint finish on it, water will build up between the concrete wall and the finish, which means it will deteriorate," Smith said. "No matter how you try to finish that wall, you're going to have a lot of difficulty with it."
Yard said renovations needed to insulate and waterproof the wall from the outside would be "prohibitively expensive."
Two local artists, Emily Gray and Ken Walters, painted the mural five years ago at the request of the society board.
The two, along with Emily's mother Kathy, have attempted to negotiate with the board to find a compromise that would allow the mural to remain, at least for a few more years. Walters offered to repair the mural and coat it with a sealant that would protect the paint but still allow moisture to pass through the wall.
Painting the mural was a turning point in Emily's life, helping her decide to pursue an education at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Emily has since gone on to paint a number of murals around Vancouver.
She said she still disagrees with the board and architect's conclusions that no other options were available.
"I think it's definitely possible to keep the mural, but they don't want to make that decision, so it is quite frustrating. I wish they could reconsider that because a bare cement wall will always be there, and to grind the mural off, it's gone. It could easily be kept," she said.
She added she felt there had been a lack of direct communication from the board to her, which she found disrespectful.
Yard reiterated previous comments that he felt for the artists.
"I must make it clear, we're very sympathetic to Emily and Ken. If it was my art, I would do everything I could to protect it as well," said Yard. "It's certainly not that we have some issue with the two artists. The issue is with the wall and what's best for the community and what's best for the facility, and that's what we've got to deal with."
Yard said he will continue to negotiate with the artists to allow for a professionally-taken photo of the mural to appear in the Aquatic Centre's lobby.
Emily said she is open to that, but only if a number of conditions are met, including a display of media clippings related to the birth and death of the mural be included nearby.
The mural is tentatively scheduled to be removed within a couple weeks, Yard said.
