Girl in a Wetsuit, Vancouver

Girl in a Wetsuit is one of the attractions in Stanley Park. This bronze statue was intended to mimic Copenhagen's famous statue of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid. When the Park was unable to secure the rights to replicate the Copenhagen statue, Hungarian sculptor and painter Elek Imredy was commissioned to make a modern variation of it for Stanley Park, instead.

Girl in a Wetsuit is a life-sized bronze statue of a girl seated on a boulder, located just before Lumberman's Arch and the waterfront park. Instead of resembling Copenhagen's Little Mermaid, the Girl in a Wetsuit is a modern variation wearing swim fins, a wetsuit, and a diving mask. The statue was placed on June 9th of 1972, and has remained in place ever since.

At first blush, it's easy to mistake the Girl for a harbor seal. When the water level is high, she appears to be hovering on the surface of the water. Canada geese swim nearby, and seagulls perch on the Girl's head and knees. Over the years, the bronze statue has weathered to a subtle verdigris patina, that matches the blue-green of the water and the moss clinging to the boulder.