Documenting Toronto’s graffiti evolution has been my longest ongoing project and was the reason I became interested in photography in the first place. Since 1994, I started photographing the many hidden walls, bridges, drainage channels and train-yards in Toronto before I even understood what the art form was about. I later started painting graffiti myself and still today find myself drawn to the dynamic, colorful and unpredictable artwork and characters in this culture. Toronto’s scene remained largely unknown outside of Canada until a few years ago, and much of the art which was created allowed it to develop it’s own style without too much outside influence. While much of the scene has become mainstream, some of the best work is now being made underground and away from the public eye. Much of this work, as well as some of the older works produced exist now only in photographs as Rob Ford’s ‘buffing’ program has erased much of what survived over the past two decades. The photos featured here are just a small part of what will be featured in a graffiti anthology I have worked on for the past three years which will feature works from the 1980′s to today.
