A Burnaby man says he has mixed emotions after two of his murals were vandalized by unknown graffiti artists.
Mural painter Todd Polich says two of his works have been recently targeted.
Taggers left their marks on his mural featuring humpback whales on Beresford Street near the Royal Oak Skytrain Station.
They also targeted the first mural Polich ever painted. It sits on Royal Oak Avenue, a block north of the Skytrain station, and features a Spirit Bear, an eagle and salmon.
Polich says his murals promote environmental conservation and mean a lot to the community.
“Sometimes I feel angry, sometimes I feel very sad, especially for the children that worked with me. I really feel bad for the community,” says Polich. “People really engage in it, they love it. And for them to see it happen, the reaction was startling. Some people are furious.”
But Polich does not think it was a personal attack.
“For the most part, the graffiti community respects what I do,” says Polich. “When I paint, people come up and talk to me all the time. Occasionally, a tagger would come up to me, and say I love your work and respect it. So it is a small minority that have a different view on that.”
He says he is trying to make the world a better place, and does not think the people who tagged his work understand that.
“People who do this, I don’t think they have an understanding of what these murals are about, and the positive contribution they have on the communities that we paint them in.”
Polich plans to remove the graffiti and is asking the community to land him a helping hand.
He is asking anyone who is interested in helping with the removal to email him at todd@toddpolich.com.
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