When I started to explore Montreal a few years ago, with my own very European background, it was a real pleasure to discover the possibility of walking across a city with the feeling of not being in an urban environment. The labyrinth of Montreal’s alleyways is a city in the city, without pollution, whether it was noise, cars, advertising or simply people. And in some of these back alleys, with time, I began to notice some amazing street art and graffiti spots. Several of these evolved, and became very popular, while some others finished to be abandoned by the artists. However, it was always the same pleasure to observe how artists succeeded in transforming places that were not aimed to be street art spots. The one I present below became a regular stop in my street art escapes when Gawd and Waxhead shared a studio 2 years ago and decided to paint the back wall of this place. Then this spring, Nixon, Kazy, Zoltan Veevaete and Kevin Ledo raised the alleyway to the next level by adding some impressive art work. Rapidly tagged, these guys came back in July to fix their pieces. It was also the perfect timing for Zoltan and Ledo to collaborate on a mural they called “Sand White in 3D” (above).
First piece by Waxhead and Gawd, summer 2012:
Following pieces by Nixon, Kazy, Zoltan Veevaete, June- July 2014:
Other pieces of Zoltan V. and Nixon, between June and July 2014:
Piece by Kevin Ledo, based on a portrait of a First Nations woman, June 2014 (see the whole portrait of the woman Ledo painted during the MURAL festival):
Photos by Aline Mairet and Kevin Ledo
