uber5000

This might be the most Toronto mural ever

Rob Ford, Gord Downie, and a raccoon who dreams of donuts just helped one of Toronto's most prominent street artists finish off a masterpiece that he's been working on since last summer.

Called Toronto Tribute, the massive mural by Uber5000 can be found on the side of a three-storey building between Rush Lane and Richmond Street, just east of Portland in an area known colloquially as "graffiti alley."

The artist had finished painting most of it by August of 2017, prompting a rash of news coverage as locals and tourists alike gathered to play Where's Waldo with notable Toronto characters and events.

"I painted this Toronto Tribute last summer, but have been prevented from finishing the bottom of the mural until last weekend," wrote Uber5000 on Instagram this week. "I'm happy to finally post a finished photo."

Much of the mural looks the same now as it did last summer. Drake still sits atop the CN Tower while Darwin the Ikea Monkey climbs up to see him, Godzilla style.

Crane Girl can be seen chilling on a crane, Dart Guy smokes a cigarette next to a giant Sam The Record Man-style disc, and what appears to be an Ornge air ambulance hovers overhead, piloted by Uber5000's own yellow bird mascot (which you should definitely recognize if you've walked through an alley in Toronto over the past 5 years).

New to the mural is a portrait of deceased Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie wearing a Jaws T-shirt, a raccoon wearing a "YYZ" hat with donuts on his mind, and late former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.

Ford is portrayed riding a moose, saying "har har har." A shadowy figure has also been added to one of the windows on a building behind him. Is it death? Is it Doug? Is it Sandro Lisi? Hard to say.

Uber5000 told The Star last year that this piece was meant to fit with the coral reef murals he'd painted nearby back in 2012.

You can see those massive murals and more of the artist's work here, or by looking for portraits of Uber5000's dog Hubble around town.

Lead photo by

Uber5000


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