John Tory
born Toronto, Ontario, 1954

Installation — paint and signage on a vacant building
(2022)

Dozens of homes could be built on this site, but instead the artist has created a powerful symbol for the dysfunction and crisis in urban development. This large and whimsical installation takes its name from one of the core ideas in Toronto’s zoning — the idea that new development cannot be allowed to change the character of a neighbourhood. The site is adjacent to a subway station, a streetcar line, and near to a commuter railway station, yet for the eight years when the artist has imposed his vision on the city, this building has remained vacant. The remnant paint of the “giraffe” branding suggests a tall building whose neck was thrust high and proud above the neighbourhood, but that proposal was rejected. Viewers are forced to consider whether this derelict building has become part of the neighbourhood’s character, to such an extent that it must remain derelict forever.