The tunnel on de Rouen street, near the Préfontaine metro station in Hochelaga, is one of Montreal’s few legal graffiti walls. Most of the city’s writers and many of its artists have done something there at one time or another. The fact that most of the walls are in a tunnel makes it possible for artists to work in almost any weather condition. From the first days of spring to the last days of autumn there is almost always someone at work in there. During events such as the Jam de Rouen there actually can be up to 20 people working side by side. It’s no surprise then that pieces there don’t have a very long lifespan, from a few hours for the most amateur to a few weeks, sometimes more, for the most respected writers (longer for the pieces done in the higher reaches of the walls or during winter). This means that fans of graffiti who visit this open-air gallery every week or two are treated to a whole new exhibit each time.
Because the amount of works photographed at this legal wall, I have broken down the galleries in sections, over 2 years. See:
August-December 2014
January-June 2015
July-December 2015
January-June 2016
Help with the identification of some of the more obscure artists featured in these image galleries is welcome.
Le tunnel de la rue de Rouen près de la station de métro Préfontaine dans Hochelaga est un des quelques murs légaux de Montréal. La majorité des graffeurs montréalais ainsi que plusieurs autres artistes y ont laissé leur marque au cours des années. Puisque les murs sont sous tunnel, il est possible d’y travailler peu importe les conditions météo. On y trouve presque toujours un ou des artistes à l’oeuvre, des premiers jours du printemps jusqu’à la fin de l’automne (et même plus). En fait, pendant la tenue d’événements tels que le Jam de Rouen, on peut y trouver jusqu’à 20 graffeurs à l’oeuvre côte-à-côte. Les oeuvres n’ont conséquemment pas une durée de vie très longue au tunnel de Rouen, de quelques heures pour les créations d’amateurs à quelques semaines et même plus pour celles de graffeurs plus connus et respectés (encore plus longtemps pour les pièces faites en hauteur ou en hiver). Ceci veut dire que l’exposition offerte dans cette galerie publique se renouvelle constamment et peut être revisitée à toutes les semaines ou deux.
A cause de la quantité d’oeuvres photographiées à ce mur légal, j’ai divisé les galleries en sections s’échelonnant sur deux années complètes. Voir:
août-décembre 2014
janvier-juin 2015
juillet-décembre 2015
janvier-juin 2016
Si vous reconnaissez les artistes responsables de certaines pièces non-créditées dans ces galeries-photo, vous êtes invités à m’en faire part.
general view / vue d’ensemble
de Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall
Western side, summer 2014.
de Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall; main visible piece is by Astro
Eastern side, summer 2014.
paint rolls at the Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall
Paint rolls next to tunnel.
nearby / à proximité
Stare (left) and Scaner (right) on de Rouen near the legal graffiti tunnel
Stare (left) and
Scaner (right) on de Rouen next to the tunnel.
Zek (left) and someone representing the KG crew on de Rouen near the legal graffiti tunnel
Zek (left) and
Stare doing KG (name of crew) on de Rouen next to the tunnel.
Astro (left) and Axe (right) near the Rouen legal graffiti wall
Astro (left) and
Axe (right) on Florian near the tunnel.
Stare (left) and the AG crew (right) on Wurtele near de Rouen legal graffiti tunnel
AG Crew on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Nixon in Hochelaga
Nixon on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Jaber on Wurtele near de Rouen legal graffiti tunnel
Jaber on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Elfu (left) and EK7 (right) on Wurtele near Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall
Elfu (left) and
EK Sept (right) on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Serum on Wurtele near Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall
Serum on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Aces on Wurtele near Rouen tunnel legal graffiti wall
Aces on Wurtele near the tunnel.
Mono Sourcil near legal graffiti wall in Hochelaga
Mono Sourcil on de Rouen/Moreau near the tunnel.
Lyfer (top) and Nybar (bottom) near the Rouen legal graffiti wall
Lyfer (top) and
Nybar (bottom) on de Rouen near the tunnel
Graffiti mural featuring Shadow, Zek, Fluke and Ankh One, near de Rouen legal walls
Graffiti mural featuring
Shadow,
Zek,
Fluke and
Ankh One.
Gubway near de Rouen legal graffiti tunnel
Southeastern view from the tunnel; someone representing
K6A on the water tower, Gubway on the building.
Axe logo on water tower in Hochelaga Maisonneuve
Axe‘s logo on another side of the above water tower.
stencil by Chris Dyer aka Positive Creations
Stencil by
Chris Dyer. Also visible are tags by
Nixon and Crops.