MAGICAL SEA HORSE ridden by a mystical mermaid in this piece of art.
ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL piece of art gracing another apartment building in the Village of Islington.
MIGHTY CEASER is keeping an eye on things. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
The Village of Islington is known for its many pieces of artwork including 28 murals and some large beautiful sculptures that grace the front of a number of the older apartments.
Aside from the beautiful murals, one piece (top photo, small and flashing photos on front page) that catches the eye stands outside a 90 Cordova Avenue apartment and looks like a huge white waterhorse, with its front legs flaring as it is being ridden by a mermaid from great depths. That is one person’s perception of the aging artwork.
The art is enjoyed by thousands of residents as they travel on some bus routes to the Islington subway station.
There is no explanation of what the artwork represents. Locals say the horse is a mighty water stallion, a nemesis of the giant clam, which lives off algae in the deep seas and opens its mouth for the food to photosynthesize.
This sculpture is a very interesting piece of art that opens many questions about its creation and what it depicts.
Nearby at another apartment is a sculpture of what looks like baby pacifiers pointed towards the heavens (middle photo).
There was no history left behind to signify what the pacifiers or galloping horse means. Residents see the art daily and walk by.
The sculptures are in the Village of Islington Better Improvement Association (BIA,) that was established in 1986 and won the 2012 Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIS) award for outstanding murals.
They murals are excellent and many showcase an art history of the area, which features a five-block art walk.
The BIA says the area is fast becoming a celebrated treasure of Toronto’s west end as the murals attract great interest in their depiction of the life and times in the old village of the 1800s and early 1900s.
Some of the themed murals include: War of 1812, Hurricane Hazel, the Guelph Radial Line, Gordon’s Dairy, the Volunteer Fire Brigade, an old Lancaster bomber incident, and the Pub with no Beer.
The BIA offers a guided mural tours at Doors Open Toronto and throughout the year upon request.