Arachnophobes beware: giant spider spotted in East Van

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      If you nearly had a heart attack while taking the Skytrain past Commercial-Broadway Station this past weekend, we wouldn’t blame you. Especially if you have a fear of huge black spiders. 

      The spider in question is actually an art piece from the artist known as @junko.playtime on Instagram, and has been seen suspended by wire to hang against the rock wall underneath East Broadway at Victoria Drive. 

      Phobia
      @junko.playtime/Instagram

      And while Junko denied our request for an interview, they did offer this quote via email:

      “The installation is created completely out of waste materials collected in the streets of Vancouver. There’s already plenty of litter lining the train tracks, this is just a carefully arranged pile of it.”

      Junko was also behind the two bug sculptures spotted outside Bentall Centre on Burrard in February, which were created as part of Vancouver Mural Festival. 

      Habitat
      @junko.playtime/Instagram

      The spider sculpture was put up sometime before last Thursday, when the artist posted a series of photos of iton their Instagram page with the caption, “Phobia 2023 time to face our fears.” 

      The artist followed up with a video of the giant spider filmed from what appears to be the Millennium Line Skytrain as it departs from Commercial-Broadway Station, as well as a series of photos showing the collection of materials and the spider’s construction. 

       
       
       
      View this post on Instagram

      A post shared by Junko (@junko.playtime)

      According to comments on the Instagram posts, the artwork has given a few commuters quite the shock when first spotted. 

      And honestly? We don’t blame them one bit.

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