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Brazilian artists transform Granville Island silos

VANCOUVER — The concrete-grey silos that once dominated the Granville Island skyline are being turned into a multi-coloured display for the Vancouver Biennale art exhibition.
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Os Gemeos can be seen at work halfway up the silo on the far left.

VANCOUVER — The concrete-grey silos that once dominated the Granville Island skyline are being turned into a multi-coloured display for the Vancouver Biennale art exhibition.

Brazilian artists Os Gemeos — Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo — are adding tropical colour to the Ocean Cement yard, east of Granville Island Public Market. It’s the latest large-scale work of the painters in their multi-city Giants series, following creations in their native Brazil, Greece, the U.S., Poland, Portugal, England and the Netherlands.

“The first challenge of this project was to find a location that would fit with our idea,” says the painters’ artistic statement. “We did not want a conventional two-dimensional wall that we had done before — we wanted something different, special and unique.”

The duo are applying paint to massive concrete cylinders, effectively a 360-degree display.

“As the proposed Biennale has a strong connection with sculpture, we decided to find a place where the painting can be transformed, creating a dialogue between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds,” the artists said. “Another aim is to bring new characters to Vancouver while sharing perspectives and cultures and establishing a relationship between the people who frequent this site.”