John Tory
born Toronto, Ontario, 1954

Installation
(2022)

Steel fences evoke a sense of exclusion, and steer pedestrians away from the space that police have colonized, even when no vehicles are parked here. The police are an important aspect of the artist’s creative expression, and in this plaza, an obsequious devotion to the police is given full expression. According to the municipal government’s official position, this plaza is intended to be public space for citizens, but in reality, it is used as a parking lot for the police. But that official position only serves to underscore the artist’s true message with this exhibition: might makes right, and the police will not be held accountable for doing whatever they choose.