The back alley that runs behind the western side of St-Laurent is one of Montreal’s great hotspots for commissioned and non-commissioned street art and graffiti. Two stretches of that alley are particularly interesting: the one from Laurier to St-Viateur (the subject of a separate post) and the one from Duluth to des Pins which is covered here. Some of this city’s greatest artists have left their mark there in the form of big murals, smaller figurative pieces, great graffiti, wheatpastes, stencils and of course the unavoidable stickers.

Each segment of the alley has a different feel, so this post is divided accordingly. Most of the photos were taken between the summers 0f 2014 and 2016. Follow me as we walk down from Duluth to des Pins.

La ruelle se trouvant derrière le coté ouest de la rue St-Laurent est une des meilleures galeries à ciel ouvert à Montréal. Deux portions de cette ruelle sont particulièrement intéressantes: celle comprise entre les rues Laurier et St-Viateur (le sujet d’un différent article) et celle comprise entre Duluth et des Pins, que nous traitons ici. Plusieurs parmi les meilleurs artistes à Montréal y ont laissé leur marque (commandée ou non) sous forme de murales et pièces figuratives de plus petite envergure, graffitis, pièces collées, pochoirs, et évidemment les inévitables autocollants.

La gallerie-photo ci-dessous est divisée en chapitres reflétant le caractère différent de chaque segment de cette portion de la ruelle. La majorité des photos ont été prises entre les étés de 2014 et de 2016. Suivez-moi dans cette marche de Duluth à des Pins.

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Duluth

The walk down the alley starts at the corner of Duluth. At the entrance of the alley, on Duluth itself, is this house featuring Waxhead and Gawd. Waxhead repaints the house’s facade once or twice a year. Photos below appear in chronological order, two from 2012, one from 2013, two from 2014 and three from 2015.

Notre marche commence au coin de la rue Duluth. A l’entrée de la ruelle, sur Duluth même, se trouve cette maison dont le frontispice a été peint par Waxhead et Gawd. Waxhead repeint le devant de cette maison une ou deux fois par année. Les photos ci-dessous sont présentées en ordre chronologique. Il y en a deux de 2012, une de 2013, deux de 2014, trois de 2015 et une de 2017.

Earliest photographed version, from 2012.

Later in 2012. Addition of Gawd in the upper part and Waxhead redid the window. Scroll down for more.

2013 edition, still with Gawd at the very top and Waxhead in the bottom part.

The first of two 2014 remakes.

The second of two 2014 remakes.

The first of three 2015 remakes.

The second of three 2015 remakes.

The third of three 2015 remakes.

After an extended break Waxhead finally redid the window of the above house in late 2017. Gawd is still visible above. Drawings in the window are by Waxhead and Sloast.

The 2019 edition of the house has Waxhead on and below the window, Cryote over the door and Gawd remains above them both.

2016 piece by Scribe next to the above house.

Scribe redid the above wall off-Mural in 2018, and extended it all the way to the street corner.

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Duluth to Bagg

This short segment features mainly one big mural, smaller figurative pieces, a bit of pasting and lots of graffiti and tags.

Ce court segment inclut une grande murale, quelques pièces figuratives de plus petite envergure, quelques pièces collées et beaucoup de graffitis et tags.

Mural by Monk.e on the corner of Bagg.

Waxhead

Waxhead

Cryote

Someone from the WC crew.

Kat wheatpaste.

Kat wheatpaste.

Kat wheatpaste.

Lyfer

Antonio

Peams, with a bit of contribution from Scribe.

Blek

Blek

Kruz

It’s Alive

Miss Conduct

Stencil by Dookie3.

Wheatpastes by Futur Lasor Now (top) and Swarm (bottom).

Collaboration between Stela and Zu.

Another collaboration between Stela and Zu.

Wheatpaste by an unidentified artist.

Door featuring small paste-ups by Tava (top) and Swarm (bottom).

G.Knight poster.

G.Knight wheatpaste.

Starkey wood-up.

Possibly Loks.

Unidentified artist on the left, El Moot Moot on the right, with tags by Feros and Thief!, at the Duluth end of the alley.

El Moot Moot again, this time at the Bagg end of this segment of the alley. Also visible are a sticker and part of a wheatpaste by ROC514.

El Moot Moot

Unidentified artist.

ROC514 (top) and Flavor (bottom) wheatpastes.

ROC514 representing the KLC crew at the time.

Sloast

Akym (left) and Lapin (right).

Lapin

Lapin

Wheatpaste by Ether.

Paste-up by an unidentified artist.

Poster by an unidentified artist.

Poster by an unidentified artist.

Stencil by an unidentified artist

Canvas by Flavor tied to a post.

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Bagg to St-Cuthbert

This segment features mostly great graffiti as well as big figurative pieces.

Ce segment est caractérisé par un grand nombre de graffitis de qualité et quelques grandes pièces figuratives.

View of the Bagg end of the alley in early 2014. Main artists seen here are Her (woman) and Axe (raccoon).

At the end of 2014, Her, Seker, Sirvis and others.

Further into the alley, Emske at the forefront, then Tracy, Jaber, etc.

Piece by Jaber at the forefront.

Naimo

Hitem‘s companion piece to the Naimo one above.

Meor

Usem

Jaws

Narc

Kzam

Jaws in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.

Narc in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.

Kzam in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.

Off-muralfest piece by Beaf.

Vogue

Ason

Bask

Maine aka Secret beneath the Bask one seen above.

Zeyo(?)

Noka

Dolar

Getsa

Herlen

Herlen as above, but one week later.

One Tulip and Nems for Orgasthme.

Nems representing Orgasthme.

One Tulip representing Orgasthme.

Mokyt

Arcel

Further into the alley, view from 2012. At the top: Waxhead and perhaps other members of the then Wzrds Gng, Gawd, then more Waxhead. Photo © Aline M.

Same wall as above, in 2014, with new graffiti at the bottom, graffiti over most of the top, and new creature by Waxhead at the end (close-up below).

The Waxhead piece in 2013, in progress. Photo © Mr Mocha.

The Waxhead piece in 2014.

The Waxhead piece seen in the 2012 photo above was later covered by a letters piece from Dré aka Earth Crusher.

Unidentified writer (photo © Aline M).

Further into the alley, unidentified writer at the forefront, then Ether.

Mang?.

Same spot as above, covered by Deep.

Regimental One Ton.

Waxhead

Cryote and Foxtwat at the time for the Wzrds Gng (left) and Zoids (right), in 2012. Photo © Aline M.

For many years this garage door was covered with a piece by Peru143. The yellow and red throwie on the right is by Wastoids, Peru143’s ‘crew’. Also visible around are tags by Omen and Beeforeo (amongst others).

Same spot as above, redone by Turtle Caps. Above the door is a new fat throwie by Sake and to the right the older throwie by Peru143‘s Wastoids. Also visible are tags by Omen and others.

After Turtle Caps redid the above garage door, it was consistently vandalised by taggers. A turf war ensued, with each party going over each other within a day or two. This is the third version of Turtle Caps’ contribution.

See above. This is something like Turtle Caps‘ seventh version of this door. Notice the new Waxhead piece on the left.

Turtle Caps‘s eighth version of the above garage door.

Turtle Caps in the same spot as above, one year later.

A Positive Creation by Chris Dyer on the left and wheatpastes by Turtle Caps top right.

Same spot as above, after Chris Dyer repaired and slightly altered his piece. Chris’ brother Peru143 filled the space to his right.

El Moot Moot.

El Moot Moot (left) and Waxhead (right)

Group piece featuring Waxhead (left and barely visible in bottom corner), Turtle Caps (above ladder), Futur Lasor Now (above door), Deadliest Rosa (middle bottom), Loks (right) and El Moot Moot (right wall).

SBU One and MSHL (see next).

Wzrds Gng crawling over the SBU One and MSHL wall seen above.

Germ Dee

Germ Dee

Germ Dee

Germ Dee

Deko

Huge Sake throwie

Hitem

Kzam

Jaws

Devil

Balis

Arcel

Beeforeo aka Bfour (bottom) and Scaner (top). Photo © Aline M.

Scaner

Soma

LS (Eles)

Wheatpaste by Kat

Pasted poster by Kat over a huge Scaner throw.

Stencil by Graffiti Knight on the ground, guarding the entrance of this segment of the alley.

Scaner

Scaner flop.

Some (left) and Maps (right).

Jest

Unidentified artist.

Scaner paste-up).

Turtle Caps wheatpaste at the end of this segment of the alley.

ROC514

Unidentified artist.

Small stencil from Damon

Hand-drawn piece by an unidentified artist.

Quickie by Eskae.

Lapin

Figurative tag by Loopkin.

Figurative tag by Loopkin.

Poster by Elsol25. Also visible bottom left is a small paste-up by Gwan (see next for close-up).

Gwan paste-up.

The Edgy Way poster.

Mandal piece by Ali in the middle of this segment of the alley.

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St-Cuthbert

As we cross St-Cuthbert over to the next segment of the alley, contributions to the Mural Festival can be seen on the lateral wall of a St-Laurent pawn shop. Shown below is Scaner and Axe‘s contribution to the 2014 edition of the festival, which replaced the piece done by WZRDS GNG for the 2013 edition (also shown below). Until 2012 this wall only featured tags and uninteresting graffiti.

Alors que nous traversons St-Cuthbert vers le prochain segment de la ruelle, nous sommes en mesure de voir une des contributions au Festival Mural sur le mur lateral d’un pawn shop de la rue St-Laurent. La gallerie-photo ci-dessous inclut la contribution de Scaner et Axe à l’édition 2014 ainsi que la contribution du collectif WZRDS GNG à l’édition 2013 du festival. Avant sa sélection comme canevas par le Festival Mural, ce mur ne présentait que des tags et graffitis sans grand intérêt.

Scaner and Axe‘s contribution to the 2014 edition of Mural Festival. Lateral view above and back view below.

Back view of Scaner and Axe‘s contribution to the 2014 edition of Mural Festival.

WZRDS GNG‘s collective contribution to the 2013 edition of Mural Festival. Lateral view above and back view below.

Stela‘s signature Starchild is recognizable in this photo of WZRDS GNG‘s contribution to the 2013 edition of Mural Festival. Photo © Vitrolaeletrica.

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St-Cuthbert to Roy

Omen‘s contribution to the 2013 edition of Mural Festival was visible (until it was replaced with a new mural; see next) from this segment of the alley just as much as from St-Laurent, through a parking space accessible from both sides. At the bottom of the mural are letter pieces by Omen and Five Eight.

The above Omen mural was replaced by one from Nychos for the 2015 edition of Mural Festival.

Great piece by Nixon.

Waxhead on doors.

Foxtwat on door.

Small piece by someone from the Wzrds Gng.

Poster by someone from the Wzrds Gng.

Waxhead (top) and Lyfer (bottom).

Bosny

Legal on letters and Jmoe on characters.

Haks

Elsol25

Elsol25 in the same spot as above, one week later.

Secret

Cons

Deep

Deep

Block

Zek

Ether (heavily tagged at the time of photo, unfortunately).

Meor

Kers

Unidentified writer.

Ratur(?) in same spot as image above.

Block

Unidentified writer.

Dear over the above piece.

Lyfer

Lyfer(?)

Aper, and someone representing the PH crew (perhaps Pask) above.

View from 2012 (photo © Aline M).

Begor

Someone representing the VC crew.

Futur Lasor Now wheatpaste (right) and unidentified artist (left).

Poster by Elsol25.

Poster by Elsol25. Also visible on the right is a Portrait Of A Vandal by Miss Me.

Miss Me wheatpaste.

Kat poster.

Kat poster.

From early 2014, this shot features wheatpastes by Mono Sourcil (top right), Labrona (bottom) and Scaner (centre left) over tags and an old Francisco Garcia poster.

As above, but later in 2014: the Labrona wheatpaste at the bottom was pasted over with something from A in B.

Pasted paw tracks by Swarm.

Stencil by unidentified artist (top) and small paste-ups by Swarm (centre) and Stela (bottom).

Paste-ups by ROC514 (right) and Flavor (left).

Wheatpaste/stencil combo by Cazo.

Swaz piece in and around a hole in the wall.

Heavily tagged door featuring wheatpastes by Rage5 (right) and an unidentified artist (left), a bovine head by Alex Produkt (top) and a Waxhead drawing at the bottom.

Swaz, with lots of tags.

Swaz

Coz/Snail from the WC crew and lots of tags.

Screaming heart wheatpaste by Tava.

Futur Lasor Now poster.

Unidentified artist.

Unidentified artist.

Paste-up on wooden support by the It’s OK Project.

Sticker by Naia.

Sticker by Naia.

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Roy

Halfway between St-Cuthbert and des Pins, a short perpendicular alley connects our alley to St-Laurent and the beginning of Roy. This segment is therefore visible from St-Laurent and is much cleaner (as in ‘free of tags’) than the back alley.

A mi-chemin entre St-Cuthbert et des Pins, une courte ruelle perpendiculaire permet de rejoindre la rue St-Laurent et le début de Roy. Les quelques oeuvres qui y sont présentées sont en conséquence visibles de la grande artère et les murs ne sont pas aussi vandalisés par des tags que les murs de la ruelle arrière.

Zek

Hsix

Ether

Earth Crusher

The AG Crew

Johste (letters) and Bezoman (character).

Sceak representing FT (Fresh Tagz, Fun Times, etc.)

Fonki

Mural by M. Abstrakt.

Scaner

G.Knight wheatpaste.

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Roy to des Pins

Waxhead and probably someone else from the then Wzrds Gng.

Waxhead

Waxhead

Waxhead. Also visible in the top left corner of the photo is a wood-up by Loks; scroll down this gallery for close-up.

Same spot as above, redone by Waxhead after being vandalised.

Killa EF

Futur Lasor Now

Andrew The Alien

Cryote

Door featuring work by Waxhead (in red) and Cryote (in blue), as well as a lot of tags.

Unidentified artist.

Waxhead? for the then Wzrds Gng.

Pilos

Starkey wood-up.

Wood-up by Loks.

Lovebot wheatpaste.

Lovebot wheatpaste at the des Pins end of the alley.

El Moot Moot

El Moot Moot

Wheatpaste by Swarm.

Wheatpaste by Kat.

Sloast wheatpaste.

Gwan paste-up.

Unidentified artist.

Pnda

Wood-up by City Kitty.

Waxhead

Stencil by Dookie.

Paste-up by Turtle Caps

Paste-up by Futur Lasor Now.

Sticker by Futur Lasor Now.

Sticker by Futur Lasor Now.

ROC514

One more of ROC514‘s iconic bird.

Dookie

Smaller piece by an unidentified artist.

Drawing by an unidentified artist.

Stencil by an unidentified artist.