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Graffiti artists honour fallen soldiers
By CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun
Young graffiti artists created this mural
honouring our fallen soldiers on a downtown wall near
the coroner's office, the final stop on the Highway of Heroes.
(CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun)
A group of Toronto youths have created a work they hope will be a lasting tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers — a mural that will now be the last thing family members see as their loved ones are repatriated.
So much more than graffiti, their work of art portrays a massive dove of peace with wings spread, emblazoned with the red and white of our nation’s flag, complete with a maple leaf on the bird’s chest.
It spans more than 15 metres across an old brick wall, brightening what was a dingy laneway outside the entrance to the Ontario Coroner’s Office off Grenville St. just west of Yonge St.
“My hope is that people will see this and be filled with a sense of pride,” artist Jessey Pacho said Thursday after the mural was unveiled.
“I also hope they’ll think about the lives that have been lost.” The journey home for soldiers killed in Afghanistan begins with a flight to CFB Trenton, where they are met by their families.
Their bodies are then loaded into a hearse and driven across Hwy. 401 — now dubbed the Highway of Heroes — down the Don Valley Parkway and ultimately across Grenville St., up the laneway and down a ramp into the coroner’s office.
After seeing a repatriation ceremony firsthand, Pacho said he felt compelled to get involved.
The 22-year-old soon found himself mentoring six youth artists from Flemingdon — a neighbourhood near Don Mills Rd. and Eglinton Ave.
Pacho and budding artists Nazley Pakrow, 18, Tanzila Shaikh, 21, Kunal Chandidas, 18, Maria Khan, 17, and Satheeskumar Varatharasa, 16, painted the wall behind Sushi Sky restaurant with the owner’s blessing.
The mural now marks the end of the Highway of Heroes.
“Our hope is that this sends a message from youth worldwide that the job our soldiers are doing abroad is appreciated,” said Toronto Police Const. Scott Mills, who spearheaded this project and many others across the city.
He said it was another graffiti artist, Kedre Brown, who helped inspire the idea to do something in honour of Canada’s troops.
The pair happened to stop by a repatriation ceremony about two years ago and Brown, also known as Bubblz, turned to Mills and said: “If kids in this city knew what soldiers and cops go through, they would be more willing to trust you.”
chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca
By CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun
Young graffiti artists created this mural
honouring our fallen soldiers on a downtown wall near
the coroner's office, the final stop on the Highway of Heroes.
(CHRIS DOUCETTE, Toronto Sun)
A group of Toronto youths have created a work they hope will be a lasting tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers — a mural that will now be the last thing family members see as their loved ones are repatriated.
So much more than graffiti, their work of art portrays a massive dove of peace with wings spread, emblazoned with the red and white of our nation’s flag, complete with a maple leaf on the bird’s chest.
It spans more than 15 metres across an old brick wall, brightening what was a dingy laneway outside the entrance to the Ontario Coroner’s Office off Grenville St. just west of Yonge St.
“My hope is that people will see this and be filled with a sense of pride,” artist Jessey Pacho said Thursday after the mural was unveiled.
“I also hope they’ll think about the lives that have been lost.” The journey home for soldiers killed in Afghanistan begins with a flight to CFB Trenton, where they are met by their families.
Their bodies are then loaded into a hearse and driven across Hwy. 401 — now dubbed the Highway of Heroes — down the Don Valley Parkway and ultimately across Grenville St., up the laneway and down a ramp into the coroner’s office.
After seeing a repatriation ceremony firsthand, Pacho said he felt compelled to get involved.
The 22-year-old soon found himself mentoring six youth artists from Flemingdon — a neighbourhood near Don Mills Rd. and Eglinton Ave.
Pacho and budding artists Nazley Pakrow, 18, Tanzila Shaikh, 21, Kunal Chandidas, 18, Maria Khan, 17, and Satheeskumar Varatharasa, 16, painted the wall behind Sushi Sky restaurant with the owner’s blessing.
The mural now marks the end of the Highway of Heroes.
“Our hope is that this sends a message from youth worldwide that the job our soldiers are doing abroad is appreciated,” said Toronto Police Const. Scott Mills, who spearheaded this project and many others across the city.
He said it was another graffiti artist, Kedre Brown, who helped inspire the idea to do something in honour of Canada’s troops.
The pair happened to stop by a repatriation ceremony about two years ago and Brown, also known as Bubblz, turned to Mills and said: “If kids in this city knew what soldiers and cops go through, they would be more willing to trust you.”
chris.doucette@sunmedia.ca
