Caution… Satire at Work in Toronto!

Apparently, Toronto’s approach to its crumbling infrastructure is “Don’t fix it if it’s broke”. Hats off to James McLeod and Tom Ruhig.

Flashback to the Joey Skaggs 1992 Brooklyn Bridge Lottery hoax 30 years ago! His “leaked” inter-office memorandum, purporting to be from New York Mayor David Dinkins, offered to sell the Brooklyn Bridge in a public lottery. Seemed that was the only way the bridge’s crumbling infrastructure would ever get restored.


Artists Parody Toronto’s Failing Infrastructure With Museum Labels, Hyperallergic, by Elaine Velie
October 13, 2022

In Toronto, museum-quality wall labels now accompany a broken water fountain, a chopped-off tree, and a sign announcing the abrupt end of a bike lane. In a project they call AusterityTO, James McLeod and Tom Ruhig placed 14 plaques on examples of failing infrastructure across the city. Ahead of Toronto’s upcoming municipal elections, AusterityTO seeks to highlight what the artists see as the shortcomings of the city’s current mayor John Tory, who is seeking a third term. Read the whole article here