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Up Here timelapse: Watch a wall go from plain white to pure art

Sudbury.com video highlights the work involved in painting a massive mural

Tucked away in front of Massachusetts Lane, right in front of the McEwen School of Architecture, is a blank-canvas of a wall that has largely been left untouched.

A part of Zigs, Northern Ontario's only bar catering to the LGBTQ community, this south-facing wall attracted Toronto-based muralist Kirsten McCrea to Sudbury for Up Here's mural initiative.

It became one of the eight new murals created in and around the city's downtown core.

“My favourite thing about this wall is the triangles that are part of the brick work,” said McCrea. “It's a feature that I haven't ever seen, and when I was told that this is also a gay bar, I was like 'oh that's going to be a purple triangle because that's the classic symbol.' ”

McCrea said she is normally very spontaneous when it comes to her art, letting the piece speak to her, but this project was a rare exemption.

“I planned this one out a bit more than normal,” she said. “It's one of the first times where I've really taken the time to sit down and see what it's going to look like.”

The finished product, representing nine different artistic styles and patterns, is a depiction of overlapping pieces of wallpaper that's been torn away, which to McCrea, also represents society itself.

“Especially in Canada,” she added. “This is a very multicultural place with a lot of multicultural people from all over the world coming together.”

To see McCrea's work in action, check out our time-lapse video spanning the eight days it took to bring this wall to life.


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