Cleaner's Action

Location: 1628 Dundas Street East, just west of Brock Avenue

Date photo taken: 9 July 2022

Apart from the size, you could almost describe this mural in Little Portugal as understated. The faded appearance is the result of the way in which it was created - not painted, but rather excavated. The artist, known as Vhils, creates his murals by chipping away at the layers already in place, revealing what is underneath. Which is a perfect fit for the theme of the mural. It features faces and scenes drawn from archival photos and reports, of women, predominently Portuguese immigrants, who worked as cleaners at Queen's Park. In the 1970s they came together and organized to demand better pay and working conditions and sparked a major labour movement that would become known as the Cleaners' Action. 

You can learn more about the labour movement and the women behind it on this site. For more information on Vhils and his creation of the mural, there is an interesting article by David Ganhão.

Cat

Location: Hickson Street, near Brock & Dundas
Date photo taken: 8 October 2015
Image 19 in the Mural Series

This cat makes up the better part of a large mural on the south side of the Elite Plumbing & Heating Supplies building at the corner of Dundas and Brock. What I've elected to crop out of the image is the rat on which this fellow is so focused, in part because it's rendered in much more mundane colours, and in part because even though it's a rat, you can't help but feel a little bad about what's coming. The piece isn't signed and I'm still searching for the name of the artist - if you know, please leave a comment.

UPDATE: Thanks to Jenny Finkelshtain, one of the building owners, for providing the missing information. The mural was done in September 2015 by Toronto artists Ratbath and Jonny Cakes.