Street art is huge in Toronto, and it is often political in nature. Case in point, a new portrait of Premier Doug Ford that hit the bricks of the city’s legendary Graffiti Alley this week. The work, which shows Ford running away with bags of money, is a response to a report on the provincial government’s Greenbelt development dealings by the Auditor General. The work is by a Toronto artist who goes by the name D.Terra.
In addition to painting this work, D. Terra has offered to recreate the work on anyone’s spare wall or garage door for free.
We caught up with the article to ask about the Ford portrait and the overwhelming response.
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What inspired this work?
My inspiration was greed, corruption and unaccountability i.e Doug Ford. I just wanted to make a political statement about the scathing Greenbelt report — I just painted what everyone is thinking.
How long have you been doing street art?
I dabbled in street art over the years on different projects but really started to focus on painting during the pandemic.
Could you provide some background information on your work?
I painted a friend’s garage in 2021 out of sheer boredom and found working on large scale stencils very satisfying. Before long, other neighbours are requesting work, too. The community has been a huge supporter of my work. Toronto has a big influence on my designs. I use elements of pop art and graphic illustration to help bring colour and positivity to neighbourhoods around me, one garage door or wall at a time. Stencils help maintain the works, as well.
People are loving the work, which must feel good right?
The goal of any artist is to attract as many eyes as possible. Painting in Graffiti Alley is legal so I thought I’d give it a shot and l’m happy it struck a chord with people. The more people come together to laugh and discuss a problem the better.
Is it still up or did it get painted over yet?
As of writing this, yes, it is still up but street art is ephemeral.
Has anyone taken you up on your offer of recreating the work elsewhere?
Not yet but it’s understandable, I mean, it’s Doug Ford.
