This 40-foot serpent sculpture in Vancouver is a reclamation of Squamish and Japanese art

James Nexw'Kalus-Xwalacktun Harry, a Squamish artist, and Lauren Brevner of Japanese and Trinidadian heritage, have been collaborating on art pieces for a decade.

The pair are partners in life and welcomed their daughter into the world two years ago. They thought of her as they pitched their latest public art project: a 40-foot sculpture of a two-headed snake located at the intersection of Granville Street and West Broadway, in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood. 

The double-headed serpent, Sínulhḵay, is a supernatural being from a Squamish Nation story, and the sculpture was made using Japanese materials.

The piece, they say, will allow their daughter to see her cultures represented in the mainstream. 

"When we were talking about what was important to us, it always came back to her, how we want her to walk in her power and be represented in this world," Brevener said.

"We wanted her to know who she is, so we created a body of work around that."

The project was selected through a competitive process. Harry and Brevner curated the piece based on the Squamish story and a team of designers and fabricators at Area 58 Innovation Inc. in Langley built it.

The serpent's two heads represent the good and the bad in life.

In the story, a young warrior named Xwechtáal is tasked with killing the double-headed serpent because it is scaring away the animals. Xwechtáal has the option of slaying the serpent's good head or bad head.

If he slayed the good head, he could take all the power for himself. If he slayed the bad head, it would bring back all of the animals.

The story is a lesson in dealing with greed, Harry said. 

The piece took three years to create and will be unveiled to the public in July. 

"It's an amazing feeling honestly, we couldn't be more proud to be selected for this. For me personally, it feels like an enormous win for Coast Salish art and identity being represented in prominent places in our city," Harry told CBC's On The Coast.

The pair said they took a trip to Japan before they pitched the project, where they drew inspiration for the piece.