Lively City Part 1

Artist(s): Steven Twigg

Producer: StreetARToronto

Completed: 2019

This brightly painted signal box at the corner of Huron Street and Harbord Street in downtown Toronto features a rather humorous and cartoonishly illustrated scene all too common in the City. The front of the signal box displays a hot dog vendor selling hot dogs for two dollars. The rear face of the signal box shows a raccoon being hoisted from a tree-based pully, with the assistance of another racoon. The scene begs a number of questions – is this their first hotdog caper? Have they created an industry out of their Oceans 11-style ways among the other raccoons? And most importantly: how does the raccoon take their hot dog? All of these questions are prompted with joy – this signal box is a delightful splash of colour in the middle of the University of Toronto – St. George (UTSG) campus.

Artist’s Statement: Toronto is a busy city. Most of us are buzzing from place to place with a purpose. I get inspiration from long wanders along our streets, appreciating the little things and imagining the lives quintessential parts our city could be living; like pigeons, what do they do when we’re not looking? Could be anything, even riding a unicycle for all we know. This artwork encourages us to stop a moment and let our imaginations run wild, rather than running wildly ourselves from A to B. This is part of a series.

Created for Outside the Box by StreetARToronto.

For More Information: artists' related Instagram post.