Magic on Sumach Street

Walking down Queen Street East this past weekend on my way to photograph Riverside, I passed Sumach Street; the colour of these interesting pieces caught my eye and drew me in.

At 60 Sumach Street sits The Magic Building. I’m not sure exactly what goes on at said building, and I couldn’t find much on the Web, so I guess it’s open to interpretation:

Above the door an annoyed-looking witch casts a weary eye on any interlopers…

… while a figure not unlike Metallica’s James Hetfield broods quietly on each side of the door…

Elicser on the Magic Building

BUT!… the best part of this location is the massive, impressive canvas by Elicser, wrapping around the corner of the Magic Building:

On the other side of Sumach Street at the corner of Queen Street East, is this utility box – unmistakably Elicser:

Elicser is one of Toronto’s best street artists who has helped define our cityscape. In photographing Toronto over the years, I’ve encountered a lot of Elicser’s work, all of it impressive and distinctive. You can read more about him here and here.

Here’s a short video on the man himself:

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Leaving the magic behind and heading a little further east across Queen Street, I encountered these in an alley beside a building at 533 Queen Street East:

Quite good, actually. The only identification on the mural was a little inscription on the one side: Not Art by @ITSMAHYAR. After some minor Googling, I found a little bit more here about the Not Art Gallery and the artist Mahyar Amir.

So, all in all, it was an interesting little diversion that day on Queen Street East.