Winged fairy

 

Location: Noise barrier along the rail corridor, viewed from Sudbury just south of Queen St. W.

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

The jagged edge on the right side of this mural is explained by the fact that it forms the final E in the name Parkdale. It's part of a lengthy mural that adorns the sound barrier along the railway lines south of Sudbury Street. Each letter is blocked out against black and features its own mural. Further murals spell out Liberty Village and West Queen West. Another mural in this set was featured in 2022 and you can read more about the project in that post. 

This mural was contributed by EGRart. According to their statement, "In a metaphorical framework, her art delves into the notion of finding our place in the world by depicting archetypes within wondrous urban and natural settings; fantastical characters blessed and at times burdened by our modern day ways of living. Figures convey strength, vitality and power; winged characters and fairies represent angels among us."

Lapin

     

Location: Stackt Market, Bathurst Street

Date photo taken: 14 September 2019

It doesn't deliver chocolate eggs, but I thought this fellow was a pretty good stand in for the Easter Bunny. It's by Quebec artist Laurence Vallières who normally creates her largely animal-inspired sculptures out of cardboard. This particular one however was created with wood and the white corrugated plastic known as coroplaste, allowing it to stand up to both the elements and to its admirers. She originally created the work for the 2019 edition of Montreal's MURAL Festival, where it sat on the street, a glowingly bright white. The pink paint job was done when it was relocated to its new home in Toronto later that summer.

Laughter Solves Depression

 

Location: Noise barrier along the rail corridor, viewed from Sudbury just south of Queen St. W.

Date photo taken: 11 November 2021

This mural, encapsulated within a large letter S, is one small part of the gigantic mural that stretches along the sound barrier adjacent to the railway lines running through West Queen West and Liberty Village. While not that noticeable at street level, the wall is highly visible from the adjacent condos, and Urbancorp, developers in the neighbourhood, were responsible for keeping the space from becoming an eyesore. Attempts to cover the barrier in ivy met with little success and the wall was repeatedly and extensively tagged. The eventual solution was to accept that the wall was the perfect canvas and offer it up to street artists. Large blocky letters marked out in white primer, spelling out Toronto, Parkdale, West Queen West, and so on, provided over 50 street artists with individual canvases on which to contribute their own visions. If you want to learn more, a short documentary was created detailing the project.