Commissioned by the City of Vancouver’s 2016-17 Public Art Program on the theme Coastal City, Barnacle City is a video work, a mock sci-fi “tiny action” movie, featuring barnacles and Vancouver’s glass towers. It lauched on June 13 and ran until July 10, 2016, and screened among regular advertising on two large LED screens at Vancouver’s downtown corner of Robson and Granville, the heart of what was once Cinema Row and at additional venues in Vancouver. Additional venues include: the CBC Plaza on Hamilton St.; Telus Gardens on Georgia St.; the Terry Fox Plaza; the Vancity Theatre before each film screening and the Pacific Cinematheque, also before each film screening. An image from Laiwan’s film "Barnacle City" was shown at the Canada Line City Centre Station from October, 2016 to March 2017.

Barnacle City by Laiwan projects imaginative possibilities of a future city, or perhaps a city that once was, in which natural accretions are anchored among man-made structures. Where is this science-fiction inspired city? You will recognize Vancouver’s cityscape dramatically altered by this utopian (or dystopian?) vision, alive with ocean forms.