201152-lead-fordzilla-streetcar.jpg

Fordzilla takes Toronto!

If you're annoyed by Rob Ford-themed graffiti, it's probably best to hit the "back" button right now. These pieces of the mayor — a.k.a. Fordzilla — eating the things he putatively hopes to dispatch with are a pretty harsh indictment of Toronto's municipal leader. Are they fair? That will depend on who you ask, of course. Certainly in the case of the spray paint, there seems to be some teeth behind the mayor's promise of a crackdown. On the other hand, when it comes to streetcars and bikes, it's not entirely accurate to claim that Ford has tried to eliminate them. He and his brother may not be fans of either mode of transportation, but the talk about dumping streetcars into Lake Ontario was, well, let's just say overstated.

201152-Fordzilla_streetcar-mcCaul-lead.jpg

In fact, the other day the Globe's Marcus Gee argued (although not altogether convincingly) that Ford may turn out to be a bike-friendly mayor. What's interesting, then, is the degree to which many these graffiti-based criticisms of Ford are firmly rooted in his rhetorical choices. Given the mayor's own propensity for exaggeration, it's not really much of a surprise that street artists follow suit. Not everyone's going to like it, but a whole host of others will think it's sweet justice.

As for these paste-ups, there are six it total scattered around downtown. Their creator has asked to remain anonymous, but when asked what his motivation for putting them together was, he replied that "Mr. Ford seems to have pent up anger towards the bike lanes, streetcars, and graffiti around Toronto. I thought what better way than to make him a childish cartoon villain version of him eating all the things he would like to rid the city of."

Another interesting element of this exercise is what's captured in the video embedded below. If you've ever wondered how and when pieces like this are put up so as to avoid detection, it'll provide a somewhat surprising answer (at least to those who haven't seen Exit Through the Gift Shop).

Video

More Photos

201152-Fordzilla-spray_paint.jpg


201152-fordzilla-bike.jpg201152-fordzilla-streetcar.jpg201152-Fordzilla_graffiti.jpg

Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's a preview of what it will be like to ride on new Toronto LRT line

There's a brand-new $26M TTC subway station entrance in a popular Toronto park

Ontario's largest snake grows up to 2 metres and squeezes prey to death

Ontario is home to world's oldest pool of water at a staggering 2 billion years old

Stunning new Toronto park set to open next year

Toronto somehow isn't home to Ontario's jankiest LRT

A Toronto transit project is actually going to finish early for once

People worried about Ontario police's plan to use facial recognition software