River Moon

As water is the only common substance that is naturally found as a solid, liquid or gas, our mural personifies water as three women-identifying figures. The first figure is ice who has snowflakes on her robe and a more angular figure. The second figure is steam who is floating, has clouds as hair, and a swirl-like wave of vapour surrounds her. The last figure is water. Her hair splashes, her body is made of waves and her skirt is a waterfall. The water figure also appears to be pregnant because we found it fitting to not only honour mothers, but also to play on the fact that all beings come to be, in water. As the human body is 60% water, our mural reiterates the importance of water for life as a whole.

About the Artists:
Yasaman Mehrsa (she/her) is a visual artist based in Toronto. Born and raised in Tehran/Iran, Yasaman’s love of art began in her childhood and developed an early passion for art in middle school and further shaped by her studies at Brock University/Canada (BA-Honours in Visual Arts), and Tehran University (BA in Visual Communication & Graphic Design).

Ghazaleh Rastgar (she/her) is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist who grew up in Shiraz, Iran and later moved to Toronto, Canada. Graduating from OCADU, she studied graphic design and advertising. Shortly after receiving her Bachelors of Design, Ghazaleh began working in a corporate environment and after 7 years, she decided to dive back into her original passion, visual arts.

Melika Saeeda (she/her) started her artistic path in Iran. After getting her BFA, she studied Graphic Design at TM University in Tehran, and started working as a freelance illustrator. Over the past 10 years Melika has illustrated more than +20 children’s books in Turkey and Iran, and her work has been shown in exhibitions and book fairs around the world. Since Melika moved to Canada in 2017, she started telling her stories through murals.

About Women Paint Riverside:
‘Women Paint Riverside: Currents of Change’ is a public art program about transformation, community, and our relationship to the Don River and Lake Ontario into which the Riverside community flows. Twenty+ murals that form this project add beauty and colour to the laneways in the Riverside community, celebrate our important relationship with water, and were created by women and gender diverse artists from various backgrounds. This project is a partnership between East End Arts, Women Paint, Native Women in the Arts, and the Riverside BIA. #WomenPaintRiverside

This project was made possible with funding support by StreetArt Toronto, Hullmark, Streetcar Developments, and the Riverside BIA.

For more information on this mural visit:
https://eastendarts.ca/women-paint-riverside/

Where to Find This Mural

Location: 672 Queen St. E, Toronto, ON, M4M 1G8 Get Directions

Accessibility: Easily Accessible