Bloordale

My neighbourhood Bloordale is a unique part of Toronto's west-end where people from many backgrounds live together peacefully. Relatively low rent prices allow many to take refuge here. It is also home to many galleries and artist studios, which have helped a creative community thrive.

Unfortunately, this is all about to change with the upcoming completion of the Bloor & Dufferin Condos - a six tower development by Fitzrovia Real Estate. The gentrification that follows will likely transform our neighbourhood in ways we cannot undo. Many of us who live here are waiting nervously. We are all unsure of what Bloordale will look like a few years from now.

I've called this place home for 12 years, and as an artist, I feel a responsibility to document and preserve its current state before it's overtaken by chain stores, like so much of the rest of Toronto.

For this project, I decided to build a large photo-collage of the neighbourhood. The collage consists of photographs of storefronts, neon signs, and ever-present graffiti that together tell the story of this not-so-polished but harmonious place.

Combined, these images form a kind of map, a visual topography of Bloordale.

Through this collage, I want to give viewers a virtual walk through the streets I know so well, and share a glimpse of a community that may soon disappear under the weight of change.