Digital Orca, Modern art sculpture at Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver, Canada.
Digital Orca is a modern sculpture at Jack Poole Plaza showing a leaping killer whale made from aluminum blocks. These colored pieces fit together like pixels on a screen, creating a jumbo digital image visible from every angle around the waterfront.
Digital Orca was installed in 2009 and commissioned by the City of Vancouver. The powder-coated aluminium sculpture on a stainless steel frame is owned by Pavco, the Crown corporation that operates BC Place Stadium and the Vancouver Convention Centre. In 2022, protesters against old-growth logging spray-painted the sculpture along with other Vancouver landmarks.
The sculpture bridges marine life and digital technology in a way that speaks to the harbor's character. The pixelated blocks transform a natural creature into something that feels both familiar and contemporary.
The sculpture sits next to the Vancouver Convention Centre and works well as a meeting spot for visitors. From here, you can easily reach the waterfront path and explore the harbor area on foot.
The sculpture's cubes hold 950 LEDs, connected by fibre-optic cables to circuit boards run from a master board. Coupland programmed their flashing sequence himself on a laptop using a web application, so the work changes character after dark.
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