There’s perhaps no more picturesque place to expand your notions of what sculpture is than the annual Sculptors’ Society of British Columbia’s Summer Exhibition, on from Thursday to Monday (July 30 to August 3) at VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Take the work of Jesse Rubin, whose Man Walking Pet is shown above: his sculptures are almost surreally super-realistic human and fantasy creatures.

Diversity is the key word of the show, with participants wielding everything from massive cast bronze to clay to recycled materials. Elsewhere, search the gardens for David Dumbrell’s quirky automata (mechanically driven moving figures); Colleen McLaughlin Barlow’s transparent blue-resin and clay-bones creation, based on the pectoral fin of the blue whale; or Jean-Guy Dallaire’s Henry Moore–like bronzes and artworks inspired by or crafted from Wreck Beach stones.

Demos and talks run throughout the event.