Dennis Oppenheim’s upside-down church

I actually had no idea what this artist’s name was when I lived in Vancouver – I just always thought of this piece as the “upside-down church” in Coal Harbour. And while I used to think it was a little over-the-top, I sort of enjoyed how much it stuck out in the public park (frequented by many a dog walker from the neighbouring condos) and thought of it as a friendly and reliable city landmark. Especially since we could always see it from my friend Jeff’s window up the street (and I had a first kiss in its vicinity and used it in a scavenger hunt).

Installation view of Dennis Oppenheim’s Device to Root Out Evil, 1997

But now it turns out that the Vancouver Parks Board has voted to remove it (apparently due to residents’ complaints that it blocks their view of the harbour) and that it’s moving to Calgary’s Glenbow Museum instead. Even though I don’t really consider it a cultural treasure in Vancouver, I’m still sort of sad it’s leaving. And even more frustrated it’s because the few dozen people on the bottom floors of the neighbouring condos thought it obstructed their view of the harbour gas stations and sulfur plant.