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Port Coquitlam expected to unveil massive mural this week

A 2,000 square foot mural will be unveiled in Port Coquitlam this month on the new high rise at Shaughnessy Street and Lions Way , making it the city's largest art installation of its kind.

A 2,000 square foot mural will be unveiled in Port Coquitlam this month on the new high rise at Shaughnessy Street and Lions Way, making it the city's largest art installation of its kind.

Artists Richard Tetrault and Jerry Whitehead have been working under tarps and scaffolding since January, putting together a piece that will feature scenes of recreation and nature.

The pair are currently waiting for some good weather before pulling down the covers and unveiling the piece but said it must be completed before March.

"We have got to get some decent, warmer weather before we can seal it and touch it up," Tetrault told The Tri-City News. "We are waiting for better weather but I am hoping it will be finished toward the very end of February."

Tetrault and Whitehead also created the murals around Leigh Square and the wood relief mural inside the Port Coquitlam Recreation Complex. They said the mural will read as an extension of the forms and lines from the skate park, which is located below the art installation.

The project is the city's largest mural to date, measuring 100 feet wide by 20 feet high, and will be located on the south-side of the 26-storey Onni tower. When the tarps and scaffolding are removed the work will be visible from the Railside Youth Park, Lions Park and Shaughessy Street.

The Onni Group, which is developing the mixed-use residential and commercial tower, is required to complete a public art piece before the building can be occupied in March.

"When council approved the rezoning in 2006 we asked for additional contributions such as public art and improvements to the underpass and Lions Park," said Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore. "We already have successful public artworks in Port Coquitlam and this mural will be a natural extension of that."

Photos of the project are posted on Leigh Square's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/leighsquare.

gmckenna@tricitynews.com