While walking under the Gardiner Expressway a few days ago, I came across the debris left behind by those who once camped here. Or maybe it was trash that was thrown here.
Whatever the source, I found it rather fascinating to see what there was. Detritus as subject matter whether for photography or sociology or as anthropology in centuries to come.
The first time I saw the latest art installation in the Canary District I was in a car and only got a quick look at it. I couldn’t figure out what the mess was all about. It wasn’t until I went back on foot to take a closer look that I could appreciate what the artists were trying to do.
Located at Front and Bayview is the ‘Garden of Future Follies’ by Hadley Howes and Maxwell Stephens (Hadley & Maxwell and the Studio of Received Ideas). It is a sculpture garden and there are 7 sculptures in this garden. Each sculpture is a mashup of pieces from different sculptures around Toronto. Aluminum foil ‘molds’ were used to replicate portions of over 80 different monuments and architectural features. These portions were then put together in a whole new way.
From an interview with the artists:
“Sir John A. Macdonald’s nose is assembled along with the eyes of artists Frances Loring and Florence Wyle, the chin of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, and Northrop Frye’s hair; Jack Layton’s smile is one of seven that grace a figure lounging atop a reconstituted mantel from the library at Osgoode Hall; a bell from St. James Cathedral’s famous collection is perched on a cannon from Fort York; while nearby a suitcase from the Memorial to Italian Immigrants acts as a plinth for a collection of hats from various bronze heads.”
Now you can play spot the pieces! But you won’t find any hockey sticks.
So far I haven’t seen anyone taking selfies here but I think it would be a great spot for them!
below: No one will ever call it beautiful, playful yes, but not pretty.
as I walk Toronto 