I first posted pictures of the pasteups and posters at Charlotte and Adelaide back in September shortly after they first appeared. I walked past them the other day. There are a few that I forgot the first time and a few that are new. Being street art, they have been subject to the sufferance and whims of others – some comments are added, marks are made.
These are the photos that I took recently:
Covering the exterior walls of a small empty building on the corner of Charlotte and Adelaide West is a collection of images. This project, Paste Platz, is the work of Jeremy Lynch. He asked some instagram users (artists, graffiti artists, photographers, etc ) if they wanted to contribute images. He then printed pictures the pictures and created the scene you see below. I haven’t tried to identify which pieces were provided by which artist; instead, I have made a list of the contributors at the bottom of this post along with a link to their instagram pages. If you have been following this blog, you will recognize some of the street art. But a lot of it should be new!
Full disclosure – some of my pictures from my recent “Little Red Trike” series were included. I brought it with me for a little photoshoot.
This site was revisited, and more photos taken, late in November: paste platz revisited
Anne Milne (aka Colouring Book)
and my instagram page too
Some places never change, at least not in the big ways. Although little things pop up only to be replaced by other tidbits, Kensington still looks like it has for a while now. I can’t say forever! Because nothing lasts forever.
In fact, there is a small photo exhibit on hoardings in the neighbourhood that features old pictures and there are definitely similarities to be found!
below: On the left, from 1940 a photo of a shop at Denison and Dundas West from the Jewish Archives.
below: This is an enlargement of the the black and white photo on the right from the picture above. It is the Augusta Fruit Market and it was taken in 1961 by Vincenzo Pietropaolo
below: Sixty years later the same building sits on the same corner only now it’s the Oxford Fruit Market. It even has the same green roofline and what looks to be the same hydro pole!
below: An iconic Kensington sight gets a new paint job.
below: Fix your hearts or die.
below: A mural on the side wall of Perolas, by Jeannie Priscila aka Dajenesis
below: Hands outstretched to passers-by
below: Hate has no home here, plus something that started with “Behind stained steamy glass, we’ll (and then your imagination can take over!)
below: free Toronto Caribbean newspapers
below: Ricas Tortas, Elotes y Esquites are fading away
below: Eyes eyes and more by Jeremy
below: Walking past temptation – churros, empanadas, slushies and Birra Catrina
below: Pour me into frequency – in triplicate
below: This little sock monkey not only shows his rainbow colours but also shows his support for the COVID-19 vaccine!
below: Uber5000 – yellow birdies in a helicopter on top and dogs playing cards on the bottom. Perhaps that yellow birdie on the ladder is dropping in on the card game?
below: A view down the alley towards more murals – a very big multicoloured chicken beside a face
below: A Rowell Soller close up
below: A brighter than blood red beak looks rather creepy on this enormous chicken by Phillip Saunders
below: Walking past one of the many patios now open in Kensington
below: Carlos House of Spice
below: Saved by the youth Can you imagine it? Beside Snacks Mexican style where Aguas Frescas (Jamaica, watermelon and mango) are $5. Also on the menu, Pina Coladas, as well as Elote, and Esquites (corn dishes I think)
below: a silver poser bunny
below: Dundas West near Augusta
below: Walking to Noras for a shawarma or a kabob?
below: Hoardings on Dundas West surrounding Alexandria Park redevelopment.
below: A large mural that was a collaboration between Phillip Saunders and Luvs
below: Graffiti slaps, stickers, and paste-ups – Feelings Boi, Urban Ninja Squadron, TRP 613,
below: T-bonez in black and white
below: A shiny red skateboarder zooms past a snake with its tongue stuck out
below: stickers on boxes
below: Stickers on poles
below: A wise owl with curly hair and glasses plays the accordion
below: You are not your mistakes plus a summer time poem
The words are very small on the red sign; this is what they say.
Summer Time
Sundress
I feel India in my bones
I can smell sunlight
I can feel the high time
bless me
God bless me, goddess of forbidden love
I am she
I ___ one white candle
Maintain purity
Welcome to Kensington market!
It’s very different here before the stores open and there aren’t many people out and about.
below: Do you remember Mr. Cod and Chinese Leader Mao?
below: Fancy bath tubs galore on the shower curtain in the window.
below: Yin and yang in the corner with tbonez and Cosmo Cam
The latest attraction is the new Cherry Street bridge pictured here just after its arrival by barge from Nova Scotia where it was manufactured by Cherubini Group. It’s a shiny white steel bridge with a red racing stripe. It is 57 metres long and wide enough to carry LRT tracks and a pedestrian walkway. Another identical bridge to go beside it for road traffic comes later.
below: Digging up the city. Sometimes it seems like we are living in one big construction zone.
The bridge is not the only “sight” at the Port Lands. There is also a photography exhibit of pictures taken of the buildings before they were demolished. ‘Framework’ by Vid Ingelevis and Ryan Walker. This is part of the CONTACT Photography Festival that was originally scheduled for May.
below: Interior, 130 Commissioners Street (Coopers Iron and Metal, an old metal recycling facility). The photograph is mounted on the roll-up door of one of the ESSROC cement plant silos – now a heritage site.
below: Cleaning the streets. The ESSROC silos dominate the streetscape here on Cherry Street (looking north towards the condos in the Distillery District).
below: The back of one of the few remaining buildings as seen from Cherry Street. It fronts onto Munitions Street.
below: Cherry Street bascule bridge in the upright position. Most of the Framework exhibit is down the center of Villiers Street on top of the remains of the old railway line. There are five panels like this one, each with a picture on both sides.
below: Most of the Port Lands redevelopment is occurring behind fences.
below: A very large spike!
below: 130 Commissioners Street, September 2019
below: Abandoned gas station with its rusting gas pump.
below: 99 Commissioners Street, July 2019
below: 97 Commissioners Street, August 2019
below: Commissioners Street closed to traffic.
below: Control room, Cherry Street bridge, July 2019
below: 130 Commissioners Street, September 2019
below: An old Urban ninja squadron sticker on a TTC bus stop sign
below: Dump truck on Villiers Street
Later: Just before sunset, the new bridge in the Keating Channel. It has since been rotated ninety degrees into the proper alignment for the new segment of Cherry Street. This job was made it easy by the fact that the bridge was mounted on a large turntable on the barge. It now has to be welded into place. The old bastule (lift) bridge now in place is slated for demolition in late 2021.
‘Framework’ will be on display until August 2021.
Zoom zoom! Hop on and come along for a ride!
below: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. What direction should we go today? Where will your feet take you next? Thinking interesting thoughts as we explore. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself”. What have you created today? What should we create next?
Rather lofty words and ideas when all we’re doing is walking up Keele Street… where just looking at the stairs makes me tired.
below: It was good fun to see an altered Neighbourhood Watch sign – great to know that some still exist. Five years ago (yikes!) I posted a collection of “good guys” that I had found around the city. I don’t know if Andrew Mutton, the man responsible, is still making them but I haven’t seen any new ones for a long time.
This November has started with wonderful walking weather. In fact, the whole autumn has been a delight for those of us who like to be busy outside. The colours of the trees, shrubs, and vines seem to be more vibrant this year and I don’t think that it’s wrong to say that the colours have lasted longer than usual.
below: Keele and Annette
By the time you get to Keele and Dundas you are definitely in “The Junction” named for its proximity to the junction of a number of different railway lines. In 1884 this area became the village of West Toronto Junction.
below: Looking north up Keele to Dundas. Dundas is a long street that winds its way across the city. Here in the west end, it runs north south as it crosses Bloor West. Moving north from Bloor, Dundas parallels the GO tracks for a half kilometre or so and then bends almost ninety degrees to run parallel to the Canadian Pacific railway line. The junction of these two railway lines is a short distance away (to the northeast)
below: Walking on Dundas
below: CP tracks
below: Back by the tracks
below: The remains of a vegetable garden. Are these brussell sprout plants where the sprouts part have already been removed?
From Keele, it’s a short walk east to the West Toronto Railpath which is on the east side of the GO tracks. The northern most entrance to the path is off of Cariboo Ave which is a tiny one block street north of Dupont. The southern end, although near College and Lansdowne, is actually where the GO tracks cross Dundas…. which is very confusing. If you look at it on a map, it makes a lot more sense!
below: The mural, “Strength in Numbers” is still on the underpass walls at Dupont and can be seen from the railpath. You can find more photos of it if you follow the link.
below: From the same bridge, looking east on Dupont. The twin steeples belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Andrew the Apostle
below: Street art on the glass wall separating the path from the railway tracks.
below: Hoardings. Paintings. In the middle is a section that has been painted with these words: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace, and a soul generated by love.: C.S.K. [Coretta Scott King]
below: Black Lives Matter, Run for Ahmaud, mural by kizmet32 and Francis Pratt. Tribute to Ahmaud Arbery who was out for a run when he was murdered by two white men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis
below: Kizmet street art on a Henderson Brewery truck on Sterling Ave.
below: The West Toronto Railpath crosses Bloor Street.
below: The giraffe building at Dundas and Bloor is still there.
below: That corner is getting a new mural, a thank you to front line workers during Covid. Borat has snuck into the photo too – but then his poster does say “Wear Mask, Save Live”. You can’t see all the words here…
below: But they are more visible here….
below: Street art in a parking lot. The one on the right is kizmet.
below: The building makes a wedge. On the right is the wall in the photo above.
below: Smash, crash, gambit
below: A skinless smoker with a third eye by bodh.io
below: Drible-drible with many noodles (?) and on a more political note, someone wants Doug Ford to resign.
below: A trio – More feelings boi, a collaboration between him and tbonez., and a tribute to jazz musician John Coltrane.
… and that’s all for now!
There are older posts with photos from the Junction and/or the West Toronto Railpath. I’ve been walking and blogging long enough now that there is bound to be repetition! If you are interested in more pictures, you can always search all posts in this this blog for “Junction”… or for whatever you want for that matter!
below: The garbage always leaks before you can get rid of the bag! A trashy Daught calm sticker.
below: Knome with an expression of alarm. a cute little sketchnate puppy and urban ninja squadron sprouted big ears when tbonez teamed up with srats (sketchrats). All on the side of a Canada Post mail box.
below: 1. The woman with a heart for an eye (got her eye on love?) looks like the work of Italian street artist c_ska. It also looks like she’s taking her temperature. Another c_ska sticker is a naked backside (or is it?) on top of an urban ninja squadron. Yes, you can make jokes about being on top. 2. Talking about jokes, playing on words is daught calm’s ‘be a tuber’ YouTube dig. I guess that’s better than being a potato. 3. The little orange guy, pizza guy? pizza face? is by sketch nate.
below: Red chick light bulb, lites creation.
below: Looking for a drink?
below: Brian has become an astronaut.
below: Morbid, Icey, etc. along with the bearded face of No love; Alone boy in black and white by ozokoh. And of course, don’t worry. It took a while… but see that grey face and its mysterious signature? It’s a lino print by Brian (aka bodh.io)
below: Tbonez with a new face
below: Urban Ninja Squadron as a climbing frame for a whole slew of little sketch nate characters.
below: Forge fury, feelings boi, and a sad puppy (yee hop) by sketch nate.
below: Pikachu and a pokeball…. and a pokemon character that I don’t know.
This post will also appear in Eyes on the Streets, a street art blog.
I have accumulated a small collection of slaps, stickers, and small paste-ups, that I have seen around the city over the past couple of months. This collection has grown large enough to warrant its own blog post. So here they are….
below: He’s stepping out of the bunny suit in a little paper paste up by sketch nate (aka Nate Galbraith)
below: Looking a bit weathered on this piece of plywood is a paste up by sketchrat, (aka srats) Now Hiring Circus Rats.
below: Two stickers on a pole, the top by drible_drible and the bottom by daughtcalm
below: This old orange stikman has lost his head. In its place is a sticker for eddaviel aka Edison Montero
below: A solemn (depressed?) man with baby.
below: Wires, and more wires, on old wood utility pole.
below: Covered.
below: Contributions from Paranoid, Cherry Whine, and feelings boi. This is the oldest photo in this post; it dates back to TIFF in September. The rabbit poster was a promotion for one of the TIFF movies, Resin.
below: A bunch of words. Honest. Question authority over and over again. Wants to be healthy and happy? Money first. Capitalism. Put them altogether and what do you have?
below: Nice to see that there are still some Rob Ford faces around. He shares this sign with many others including a lovebot, a deluxo xyz, and a blue skull.
below: Time may be a human construct but I’m still tired – sitting in the bottom corner with a head full of flowers, by Sketch Nate.
below: Fake Canada postage stamps as graffiti. An interesting idea. Each of the little red maple leaves on the stamps has a letter in it, P A W. Is this the artist’s initials?
below: Many slaps here – On the bottom tight is one from Pestilencia Worldwide with two of their characters, Ratanic and Scumby. Bottom left – an Urban Ninja Squadron tbonez turned barber. Nixon, lines and shapes by The Forge Fury, and freewill are in the center, and a person hides behind a cute cat mask by Sketch Nate.
below: Another Urban Ninja Squadron, this time with The Forge Fury (aka David Baron) and screaming ‘Your Mom’. Also, Fascism shall be destroyed.
below: These faces, either with eyes missing, or eyes added on top, or some variation on that theme, have sprung up all over the place. These are two of the small ones that I have seen. You can see more of Jeremy’s work on instagram.
below: Lots of silly faces with Urban Ninja Squadron loser, and a cat on its 9th life by Sketch Nate. As for the top poster, so much for Sketch Rat.
below: Urban Ninja Squadron with a playing card Lovebot, the lovebot of hearts.
below: Tbonez with dunzo on top -more of TCF, The Chosen Few. The Forge Fury on the bottom.
below: And now Urban Ninja with Ratanic from Pestilencia Worldwide. I am getting the sense that this a rather incestuous group in that they all know each other and cross pollinate each other’s work.
below: And last but not least, a very small sticker on a pole, xmarks
There is an alley that runs behind the north side of Queen Street West, just west of Spadina.
The next few photos are of street art that isn’t new (and it may appear in earlier blog posts). There are usually cars parked here and today most of the parking spots were empty.
below: An older elicser mural
below: Uber5000 painting (and his iconic yellow bird) – the man, the bird, and the surveillance cameras.
below: This house has been empty for a long time. The doors and windows are now covered with plywood, providing a canvas for some graffiti and a surface for a few paste-ups.
below: Urban ninja squadron is on the phone. Tacim Collective (from Milan Italy) is also represented here as is Paris BKC (Brass Knuckles Crew), and sketchrat.
below: There used to be a collection of these “blueprint” pieces (maybe four of them?). This is the last remaining one.
below: The lane ends in a mess at a chainlink fence that surrounds a vacant lot on Spadina.
below: Hidden away just beyond the fence is a face by Phillip Saunders.
What did we see on Sunday was we walked along Roncesvalles? There’s lots to look at here, it’s worth a stroll. We decided to keep our eyes open for little details, the ones easily missed. This blog post is a collection of some of the smaller graffiti we found.
below: Drooling is a sign of affection not of infection…. warning, I’ll probably not take this advice to heart if you start drooling in my face.
below: The Uber 5000 little yellow birdie has big dreams, perhaps even supreme dreams.
below: Dreaming’s done, time to eat. Even birds get hungry.
below: I can’t decipher the writing over the head – cracklyaid? cracklyard? crackbyard? So we have a mystery artist who drew a cute green alligator with something in his hand and something green on his head.
below: Look! Urban Ninja Squadron has put on a shirt and tie. He’s looking almost respectable in those glasses but he can’t fool us, that pooh hat gives him away!
below: Ah! Now this is more like the Urban Ninja Squadron that I know. Here he is taking flight with the help of a drone (droning on?). Beside him (and running away?) is a little guy from slole.
below: Many stickers and paste-ups from slole (slole-slaps) have appeared around Roncesvalles. Here is one on a bench. The pumpkin head seems appropriate for the season. “It’s all over” appears on most of his/her work.
A few more from “it’s all over”. (Does the title of this blog post) make a bit more sense now?
below: What? The Toronto Sun is all over?
And now this blog post is all over too.
as I walk Toronto 