Girl in wetsuit Statue

Girl in a Wetsuit statue is located on a rock in the water along the north side of Stanley Park in Vancouver. It is a life-sized bronze sculpture of a woman in a wetsuit, with flippers on her feet and her mask pushed up on her forehand. The statue was made in 1972 by a Hungarian sculptor, Elek Imredy, whom immigrated to Vancouver in 1957. Elek Imredy fled from Hungary in 1956 and settled in Vancouver in 1957. He first taught evening courses at the Vancouver School of Art and Vancouver City College (which is now known as Langara), and not too long later, Elek became one of Vancouver's noted professional sculptor and he was one of the founders of the Western chapter of the Canadian Sculptor’s Society. During his career, Elek created many sculptures which include the Lady of Justice at the Vancouver Law Courts and a life-sized statue of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in the Supreme Court in Ottawa. One of Elek most famous sculpture is Girl in a Wetsuit. 

Copenhagen's Little Mermaid statue

Douglas Brown, a Vancouver lawyer, talked to Elek about his desire to commission a sculpture inspired by the famous Copenhagen mermaid, in return, Elek proposed a life-sized bronze sculpture of a scuba diver. Money was raised by the Vancouver Harbour Improvement Society to help with this project, hoping to help facilitate a unique landmark for both Vancouverites and visitors coming to this city. Due to Douglas Brown's initial request to have something similar to the mermaid, this statue is often mistaken as a replica of Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid statue; which became controversial. In response to this, Elek stated: "I didn't believe we should have a copy of the mermaid. She is rightfully a symbol of Copenhagen... I proposed to have a life-sized scuba diver seated there. At that time scuba diving was getting quite popular here in Vancouver and, just as important, I didn't know of any similar sculpture anywhere in the world. It was a new idea... There was tremendous opposition and great controversy. I still don't know why.."

Instead of creating a copy of the Mermaid, Elek created this statue of skin diver to symbolize BC’s modern spirit of exploration and represents Vancouver’s dependence on the sea and the necessity to use the sea for the benefit of all. He positioned the statue so that the diver is gazing out towards the Province’s continental shelf.