A Surrey couple is first to lock in their love at a new sculpture at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park.
An engraved padlock was recently placed at the "Love in the Rain" sculpture by Arvinder Gill and Sukhdeep Uppal.
They were the first to do so, and the sweethearts also got engaged at the sculpture.
Gill contacted the Vancouver Park Board to enquire about the completion of the so-called "love locks" sculpture so they could be the first to get a padlock locked onto it.
“I read a news story about the sculpture and thought it would be a memorable way for me and Sukhdeep to express our love,” Gill was quoted as saying in a park board press release on Wednesday.
“I proposed at the love locks on September 5th, Sukhdeep accepted and then we added our love lock.”
The park board approved the steel sculpture, which features four entwined couples and is priced at $50,000, at a meeting last May.
The piece, designed by Vancouver-based artist Bruce Voyce, "celebrates the shelter that love brings and the union that it forms. Love has no boundaries and therefore the human forms in the sculpture have been left both ageless and genderless, locked together in an everlasting embrace."
Vancouver Park Board chair Sarah Kirby-Yung said she expects "this striking public art will delight residents and visitors alike as it’s beautiful and interactive. Public art is important because it creates engaging spaces in our parks and cities.”
The sculpture is located in the lookout above the Quarry Garden near Bloedel Conservatory at the top of Queen Elizabeth Park. It is designed to support several thousand locks on the skirts of each couple. Keys can be deposited in a box on site and will eventually be recycled or melted down to become part of another sculpture, according to park board officials.
"Love locks" are padlocks that romantic partners have traditionally locked to a bridge, gate, or similar public fixture to show their love. Names or initials are typically inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize an unbreakable bond.
The Now