The Alexandra Park Mural

On Bathurst street just south of Dundas on the East side is Alexandra Park. And on the Southwest corner of the park there is an arresting mural with full dramatic scenes and characters. This mural was done in  2014 by Elicser and Other [Troy Lovegates] by city commission. Walking South on Bathurst or through the park it is hard to ignore the lure of this mural.

The mural captures your attention for its sheer size [covering the brick wall of a 3 story building], its almost gaudy colors but most of all for the various objects and characters found in it. Having been to the Mexican muralists works at Dartmouth College by Jose Orozco and Detroit Institute of Art by Diego Rivera one can find similar strong story-telling elements in the Alexandra Park mural:

What captures this viewer’s attention is the personality of the characters illustrated by color glow, juxtaposition, gazing angles and intimation of attachments. A favorite adornment is the speech bubble of at least 2 dozen object and stories. More vexing is the fact that the mural, just over a year old, has already been despoiled with tagging and scumming by vandals. Nonetheless, walking  through Alexandra Park has a wall of interest and fascination for any passer-by.