Watch Os Gêmeos Transform Industrial Silos Into Wondrous Giants

The Brazilian twins steal the show at the Vancouver Biennale.

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Check out those stylish wares.
Photo: Flickr/roming-the-planet.
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The silos on Granville Island in Vancouver before their transformation.
Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
The first colors appear. Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
The first colors appear.
Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
And a few more to join them.Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
And a few more to join them.
Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
Details emerge! Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
Details emerge!
Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
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Even more details.
Photo: Vancouver Biennale.
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Nearing completion.
Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
Done!Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
Done!
Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
The view from above. Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
The view from above.
Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
This cheeky (literally) detail shot shows how perfectly the work was matched to the design of the silos. Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
This cheeky (literally) detail shot shows how perfectly the work was matched to the design of the silos.
Photo: Instagram/@osgemeos.
The precision of the details compared to the scale of the project is truly mind blowing. Photo: Flickr/roming-the-planet.
The precision of the details compared to the scale of the project is truly mind blowing.
Photo: Flickr/roming-the-planet.

For the past month, Brazilian street art duo Os Gêmeos have been transforming six 70-foot-tall silos on Vancouver’s Granville Island into their signature colorful, straight-faced cartoon figures, for a giant piece titled, well, Giants. The project, which is part of the Vancouver Biennale, is their largest work to date, with painting the exterior of a Boening 747 for the World Cup landing a close second.

Costs associated with the towering mural—it took 1,400 cans of spray paint to complete!—were successfully recouped using crowd-funding site Indiegogo, where the pair has almost tripled the initial $20,000 asking goal, with 13 days left to go. They are now hoping to raise $125,000 to cover the full costs of the project, including airfare, prep, a base coat for the silos (even silos need priming!), and lift equipment rental. The twins graciously donated their time to the non-profit undertaking.

“The first challenge of this project was to find a location that would fit with our idea. We did not want a conventional two-dimensional wall that we had done before—we wanted something different, special, and unique,” the duo said in a statement. “The Biennale has a strong connection with sculpture, so we decided to find a place where the painting can be transformed, creating a dialogue between the two-dimensional and three-dimensional worlds.”

Indeed, the roundness of the silos makes the figures come alive, and the bright colors bring a bit of Brazilian flair to Vancouver’s skyline. It’s an incredible feat when you consider the level of detail the brothers, along with a crew of four, were able to bring to such massive structures using only spray paint cans and given just a month’s time.


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