People in Toronto think the mosaic in this TTC station looks like Pac-Man
A part of a mural in a Toronto subway station looks remarkably similar to the round yellow, ghost-eating figures in Pac-Man, a popular video game from the 1980s.
Toronto resident Clare Womack took a photo of the mosaic in Sherbourne station and posted it to the Facebook group, Weird Toronto.
"I've been using this station for years and only just noticed that one of the mosaics is Pac-Man and, I think, Galactica, I'm not a gamer so not sure," Womack posted.
A few people remarked that there are similarities between the mural and both video games.
"Pac-Man and Galaga. That's so awesome. Never noticed," one person posted.
The mosaics are actually part of a makeover for Sherbourne Station in 2018.
The Whole is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts (a.k.a. the Sherbourne Station Community Mosaic) is a series of 39 ceramic tile panels that can be seen throughout Sherbourne station, from the main entrance to the platforms and exits.
There are similar public art concepts in other TTC stations.
Led by artists Rebecca Bayer and David Gregory of Space Make Place, the mosaics in Sherbourne station were created with the help of more than 450 people — from kindergarteners to senior citizens who participated in a series of 24 pattern-making workshops in 2018.
"The patterns for the mosaics were created by community members," Bayer told blogTO. "We went to several local schools, community centres, libraries, etc. to conduct the pattern-making workshops and so the result was many different ideas and images."
"Whether or not some of the patterns were made to reference pop culture icons is in the eyes of the beholder," she added.
The idea was that Sherbourne station is an important transit hub for multicultural neighbourhoods, the TTC description reads. The artwork "intends to reaffirm the station as a shared place where the wider community interacts daily."
That is not to say the mosaic doesn't look like Pac-Man but it doesn't seem to be the intent behind the piece.
Clare Womack
