HALIFAX -- A well-known piece of public art in downtown Halifax will soon vanish from public view, eclipsed by a new development, but the artist who painted it says that's simply the nature of the work. The massive, surrealistic mural depicting an octopus and a blue heron battling over a fish, covers most of the exposed side of Freak Lunchbox, a popular retro candy store on Barrington Street. It was painted in the fall of 2015 by Montreal-based artist Jason Botkin, who admits he initially took some heat over the mural, but it was one of the most interesting and significant projects of his career.