Back in TO...Mongiat's Lansdowne mural updated

to distract us from Toronto's stinking strike...Richard Mongiat has completed the north side of his Underpass Project, the beautiful monochromatic mural on Bloor, at Lansdowne.

i love this project because it's a refreshing new take on what a street mural is supposed to be--Mongiat isn't trying to hide the wall or cover up the sometimes sketchy aspects of his neighbourhood. "I like working with what's here," he says.

the broken-up & stained surface of the concrete wall, the industrial feel of the railway bridge overhead, even the graffitti that has turned up on the south side of the mural (completed last year)--it's all part of his inspiration. for more about the mural, see my BlogTO article here.