Toronto Public Art: Yonge St. Clair Mural by Artist Jerry Rugg aka birdO

by | Mar 21, 2020

This mural at Yonge and St. Clair in Toronto was created by artist Jerry Rugg (aka “birdO”) in cooperation with StreetARToronto (StART) – an organization supporting street artists in the city.


Location:
1 St. Clair East at Yonge St. (just a few steps from the St. Clair TTC subway station).

The art has two aspects which relate to animals and wildlife – a deer in the main upper area of the vertical mural, and the persona of the artist “birdO.” Deer Park is a neighbourhood in central Toronto part of the larger “Rosedale-Moore Park” and “Yonge-St.Clair” neighbourhoods.

Artist Jerry Rug explained the persona (with bird mask) to the Yonge+St.Clair BIA, “birdO is an enigmatic character pulled from my main point of artistic inspiration; Surrealism. Thus, the character of the birdO identity is an extension of the surreal, whimsical artwork itself.”

The artist lived in the Yonge St. Clair neighbourhood at one point and says “While conceptualizing I would take walks through the trails. It had been many years since I truly took in the area. Much is changing! I wanted to create the feeling that I would get while walking the trails, the feeling that I could come across something magical around any bend.”

The Yonge + St. Clair BIA is the heart of midtown Toronto, and home to a few public art projects. In 2016, British artist Phlegm’s large-scale mural transformed one of midtown’s most highly visible walls at 1 St. Clair West. This was created in collaboration with StART and The STEPS Initiative. Yonge and St Clair has been working with Slate Asset Management, to spark revitalization and interest in the area.

These murals are an excellent start and great asset to the community! Congrats to the artists, local community and developers!

Credits

Photos by @riley_s_photo
Art by @jerryrugg with @thejeffblackburn Partners @start_streetartoronto and @slateassetmgmt

Related articles

“Reaching New Heights with Birdo’s Surreal Deer Park Mural” https://yongestclair.ca/reaching-new-heights-with-birdos-surreal-deer-park-mural/

Check out more of Jerry Rugg at http://www.jerryrugg.com/

Thank you

Thanks Jerry and Riley for the art and photos! What a great project! Tdot Spots is going to be a regular feature on Tdot Shots! Stay tuned for more features of hot Toronto photo and art spots! 

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