Another large mural in Montreal painted by Kevin Ledo is this portrait of Mary Socktish of the Hupa tribe in Northern California . This 2014 work is based on an old photograph from a series on the Hupa people, taken by Edward Curtis in 1923.
The song “Hallelujah” is probably Leonard Cohen’s (1934-2016) most recognized work … or at least that’s what I think whenever I hear Leonard Cohen’s name, or see a picture of him. In Montreal, Cohen’s hometown, there is now a large mural of him that was painted by Kevin Ledo, also of Montreal.
Hallelujah Lyrics:
Now I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you dont really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor falls, the major lifts
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her
She tied you to a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well, maybe there’s a God above
As for me all I’ve ever learned from love
Is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
But it’s not a crime that you’re hear tonight
It’s not some pilgrim who claims to have seen the Light
No, it’s a cold and it’s a very broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Instrumental
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Well people I’ve been here before
I know this room and I’ve walked this floor
You see I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I’ve seen your flag on the marble arch
But listen love, love is not some kind of victory march, no
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
There was a time you let me know
What’s really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do you?
And I remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove she was moving too
And every single breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Now I’ve done my best, I know it wasn’t much
I couldn’t feel, so I tried to touch
I’ve told the truth, I didnt come here to London just to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I’ll stand right here before the Lord of song
With nothing, nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Rock star status lightning bolt – a now iconic symbol painted on David Bowie’s face for the “Aladdin Sane” album cover in 1973. Here, Banksy Incwel applies the lightning bolt to a younger Queen Elizabeth in a piece titled “Still Sane”- bestowing her with rock star status? It was painted in 2012, the year of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee (i.e. her 60th year as monarch).
Alex Lucas & Paul Fearnside are the two artists that are Lucas Antics. Among their many talents is mural painting; this blog post features some of the murals that they have painted in their home town of Bristol. The photos are from the spring of 2017.
below: Pineapples and bunnies on The Little Shop, Cheltenham Road.
below: The whole mural.
below: More rabbits at the Stokes Croft Vintage Market
below: A red fox, comfortably sitting on the new moon.
below: A dashing dandy lion in the doorway with his sidekick, a little white mouse. The fable of the lion and the mouse has been told in many variations over the centuries. In it, a lion spares the life of a mouse. A short time later the mouse saves the lion by chewing through the ropes of a net that has ensnared the lion.
below: Welcome to Montpelier (a neighbourhood in Bristol)
The next three images are from the same mural, Uncertain World, painted on the exterior of the Cabot Institute at Bristol University.
The Bearpit is a park in Bristol, circular in shape and with roads surrounding it; It’s like being in the middle of a large roundabout and in fact it is the St. James Barton Roundabout. All entrances are by underground passage.
It is in an area that is the historical center of the city. After being badly damaged by aerial bombing raids during WW2 , not much was done with it until the late 1960s when new roads and office blocks were built. The bearpit was designed as a pedestrian friendly area, a city park but soon became a place where no one felt safe. In 2011 it was voted the worst place in Bristol . Over the years a number of groups tried to clean up the park and make it a welcoming place for people – with mixed success.
In May of 2017 when I was there it was a place to hang out. It was also a place for political protest.
May 2017 was in the midst of campaigning for the the UK General Election of 8 June 2017. Theresa May (Conservative) was Prime Minister. May had became PM after David Cameron resigned because of the Brexit vote. Jeremy Corbyn was leader of the Labour Party. The Conservatives won the election with 317 seats although Labour was close behind. Like most elections, this one can’t be summarized in a few sentences but if you are interested in more details, there are lots of places to look on the internet.
below: A large Corbyn rat poster by political art John D’Oh with the slogan/phrase “Make June the end of May”.
below: Mural by SP_ZERO aka Keith Hopewell
below: Mural by LAIC217
below: While we’re on the subject of Hell, a poster playing on the word exposure by Georgie aka georgieartist. I love the fact that someone has written “Story of my fucking life” on it.
below: A broom with heart by qwert art
below: Mural by Kid Crayon of Eat Crew. Just above the mural you can see part of the black and white bear sculpture/statue that used to stand in the park.
In 2019 the Bearpit was “cleaned up” i.e. all the graffiti and street art was removed as were the squatters. A quick check of the area on Google Street View shows that as of March 2021 the park was still graffiti free.
Maika is another Montreal street artist. So far, these are the paste-ups of hers that I’ve seen as I’ve walked around the city.
A mural full of odd and somewhat disturbing faces can be found in a narrow alley near the corner of Prince Arthur St. and Saint Laurent Blvd. It was painted by Mono Sourcil, (aka Maxilie Martel) a Montreal street artist. It dates from Mural Festival 2017 and has survived well.
Some of the people look rather ordinary and are doing ordinary things…. others, not so much.
As you walk around the city of Montreal, you can probably spot quite a few paper paste-ups featuring collage images of people that were created by an artist that signs her pieces as Madame Gilles.
below: Similar image as above but this time on a door with another, including “One Day You Will Come” by @_doverin
below: A little less abstract and a lot less colour
The next two pictures show the same doorway. First the top section where once again the same image appears.
Lower portion of the door.
Photos taken September 2021
La Fresque des Québécois is the title of a 420 m2 mural found on the side of Maison Soumande on rue Notre-Dame in Old Quebec City. It depicts figures from 400 years of Quebec City history. Twelve painters from France and Quebec contributed to the mural.
New France was the name of the French colony in North America beginning in 1593 with the arrival of Jacques Cartier. The French relinquished the colony to the British and the Spanish in 1763, at the end of the Seven Years War
In 1763 what is now Quebec became the Province of Quebec, a British colony. In 1791 this colony was divided into two, Upper Canada along the upper parts of the St. Lawrence River, and Lower Canada, along the lower section of the river. Upper Canada is approximately what is now Ontario while Quebec has grown from Lower Canada. Quebec City was in Lower Canada.
Even when I walk in Toronto, sometimes I find myself in unfamiliar territory and so it was back in December when I went to investigate some alleys where I’d heard that new murals had been painted.
below: Around Toronto there are quite a few raccoons in murals by Emily May Rose. Here, these “trash pandas” are being watched over by a big white rat. Quite the dumpster fire!
below: A large mural by BirdO (aka Jerry Rugg) beside Charles Sauriol school
below: Near the birdO mural (you can just see it on the left side here) is a house with street art covering the whole side of it.
below: A man reaching out a multicoloured hand to a woman by Phillip Saunders covers the back part of the house
below: A brown octopus and bright coloured tiger playing together – a collaboration between Luvs and June Kim.
below: Baby birds with beaks uplifted in a mural by Bruno Smoky and Clandestinos
below: Blue jay and tomato face, rowdyradrat and Chris Perez
below: Taking cover under umbrellas on a rainy day in a mural by Elicser Elliott
below: Mural in another lane with a signature says June, Bacon, and Erika.
below: A Nick Sweetman painting of a large Cuckoo wasp feeding on a yellow flower
below: A multi-lingual thank you to essential workers on Davenport – obrigado, gracias, merci, and grazie!
below: More of Emily May Roses’s mischievous raccoons and their cans of orange spray paint.
below: Mediah blues on the right and a Que Rock mural with indigenous themes and symbols on the left.
below: Planta Muisca mural with an orange snake under a purple night sky.
below: Anya Mielniczek’s woman’s face looks down the lane.
below: A closer look of the mural reveals another woman’s head on the far side along with people mixing together in the central portion painted by Raoul
below: Suri in grey tones while drinking, mural by haenahhh
below: HeldbyHuda mural
below: by Victoria Day
below: Sections of citrus fruit in glass bowls, real? reflections? by Steam
below: Fantasy creatures playing in a mural by Kisong Koh
below: Mural by Kseniya Tsoy on a garage door.
Support for the alley murals was provided by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
I have included most of the paintings but not all. For a complete set of photos, please take a look on Erika James’s Instagram page as she was one of the organizers of the project and she has documented it well.
These murals also appear on my Walking Toronto blog in two separate posts:
1. Around Wadsworth Park and
2. South of Davenport
Eyes on the Streets 