Draw Comics Performance at multi-media event Queen Street West, May 2008. Street style live painting 6 x 8 foot acrylic on wood panel wall mural during a fine art gallery gala event. The painting presented a psychedelic medley of natural, mechanized, and metropolitan imagery. At first glance the work appears as a surreal cityscape however the overall effect of the drawing tells a different subliminal story.

Despite being composed entirely of computers, cars, bricks and busy bodies the accumulative effect of the objects embodies the shape of a wild animal. The saddened creature, a mythological representation of the natural environment, permeates in contradictory existence to the surrounding metropolitan advancements. Exemplifying the possibilities of technology when compared to probabilities of extinction, the artwork suggests that an impression of nature will be all that remains if we continue to progress at our current pace. Read more of these draw comics stories here.

The gala opening featured three floors of multi-media presentation and performances including paintings, sculptures, live jazz and electronic music, as well as film and video installations. The “HEY APATHY!” painting demonstration was the featured performance on the main level of space. The large mural painting took place across the gallery’s north wall with full visibility from the Queen St. street level windows. Accompanied by a live jazz trio the performance lasted approximately three hours in front of a full and crowded house.

2008 was an integral developmental year for the “HEY APATHY!” project. As the street art performances peaked on the sidewalk, several established institutions started to take notice. Mike was invited and given feature billings at numerous gala events including a storefront showcase at the Hudson’s Bay Co., a large performance at the Don Valley Brickworks and a commissioned project from the A.G.O. (Art Gallery of Ontario). The Walnut show represented the first time Mike was invited to do live painting in a Queen Street West gallery. 

NEXT GALLERY: ART GALLERY OF ONTARIO

Commissioned Fashion Design for the A.G.O. Grand reopening celebrations

RELATED PAGES

PREVIOUS GALLERY: SIDEWALK DRAWINGS

Solo Gallery Exhibition of Giant Street Art Murals and comic book artwork