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.
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.
Waxhead on Duluth house
Earliest photographed version, from 2012.
Waxhead (right of door) and Gawd (top) on Duluth housefront
Later in 2012. Addition of
Gawd in the upper part and
Waxhead redid the window. Scroll down for more.
Waxhed, Gawd, on Duluth
2013 edition, still with
Gawd at the very top and
Waxhead in the bottom part.
Waxhead (right of door) and Gawd (top) on Duluth
The first of two 2014 remakes.
Waxhead (bottom right) and Gawd (top), off St-Laurent
The second of two 2014 remakes.
Gawd (top) and Waxhead (bottom) on house on Duluth
The first of three 2015 remakes.
Gawd (top) and Waxhead (bottom) on house on Duluth
The second of three 2015 remakes.
Gawd (top) and Waxhead (bottom) in Plateau End
The third of three 2015 remakes.
Waxhead (window), Gawd (very top), and drawings by Waxhead and Sloast (door window), on a Plateau house
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.
Cryote (over door), Waxhead (over and below window) and Gawd (above)
The 2019 edition of the house has
Waxhead on and below the window,
Cryote over the door and
Gawd remains above them both.
off-Muralfest piece by Scribe off St-Laurent
2016 piece by
Scribe next to the above house.
Scribe in the Plateau
Scribe redid the above wall off-Mural in 2018, and extended it all the way to the street corner.
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 for Mu (2011) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Mural by
Monk.e on the corner of Bagg.
Waxhead piece in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Waxhead
Waxhead in alley between St-Laurent and Clark, near Prince-Arthur
Waxhead
piece by someone from the WZRDS GNG (CRyote?) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Cryote
Someone from WC in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Someone from the WC crew.
Kat wheatpaste in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kat wheatpaste.
Kat wheatpaste
Kat wheatpaste.
Kat wheatpaste in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kat wheatpaste.
Lyfer in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Lyfer
Antonio in a Plateau alley
Antonio
Peams and Scribe in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Peams, with a bit of contribution from
Scribe.
Blek graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Blek
Blek graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Blek
Kruz graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kruz
It’s Alive in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
It’s Alive
It’s Alive in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Miss Conduct
stencil by Dookie3 in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Stencil by
Dookie3.
wheatpastes by Futur Lasor Now (top) and Swarm (bottom) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Wheatpastes by
Futur Lasor Now (top) and
Swarm (bottom).
Doilie paste-up by Stela with Zu, in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Collaboration between
Stela and
Zu.
Collaboration between Stela and Zu on doilie in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Another collaboration between
Stela and
Zu.
wheatpaste by unidentified artist in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Wheatpaste by an unidentified artist.
Tava paste-up, with Swarm piece at the bottom and Futur Lasor Now’s dog Patch
Door featuring small paste-ups by
Tava (top) and
Swarm (bottom).
pasted poster by G.Knight
G.Knight poster.
G.Knight wheatpaste
G.Knight wheatpaste.
wood-up by Starkey
Starkey wood-up.
Loks in a central graffiti alley
Possibly
Loks.
Unidentified artist on the left, El Moot Moot on the right, with tags by Feros and Thief!
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 in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
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 in alley betwen St-Laurent and Clark
El Moot Moot
unidentified artist in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Unidentified artist.
wheatpastes by ROC514 (top) and Flavor (bottom)
ROC514 (top) and
Flavor (bottom) wheatpastes.
ROC514 on Plateau door
ROC514 representing the KLC crew at the time.
Sloast on Plateau door
Sloast
Akim and Lapin in Plateau alley
Akym (left) and
Lapin (right).
small piece by Lapin
Lapin
small piece by Lapin
Lapin
Ether TFB wheatpaste
Wheatpaste by
Ether.
Paste-up by unknown artist
Paste-up by an unidentified artist.
Poster by an unidentified artist in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Poster by an unidentified artist.
Paste-up by unidentified artist in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Poster by an unidentified artist.
stencil by unidentified artist in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Stencil by an unidentified artist
Flavor canvas tied up to a post
Canvas by
Flavor tied to a post.
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.
unidentified artist in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
View of the Bagg end of the alley in early 2014. Main artists seen here are
Her (woman) and
Axe (raccoon).
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark
At the end of 2014,
Her, Seker,
Sirvis and others.
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Further into the alley, Emske at the forefront, then Tracy,
Jaber, etc.
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark; Jaber piece in the forefront
Piece by
Jaber at the forefront.
Naimo in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Naimo
Hitem in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Hitem‘s companion piece to the Naimo one above.
Meor in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Meor
Usem in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Usem
Jaws in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Jaws
Narc in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Narc
Kzam in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kzam
Jaws in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Jaws in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.
Narc in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Narc in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.
Kzam in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kzam in the same spot as his other piece above, but about a week later.
Beaf in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Off-muralfest piece by
Beaf.
Vogue in a central Montreal alley
Vogue
Ason in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Ason
Bask in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Bask
Maine aka 5ecret in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Maine aka
Secret beneath the Bask one seen above.
Zeyo(?) in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Zeyo(?)
Noka(?) in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Noka
Dolar in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Dolar
Getsa in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Getsa
Herlen in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Herlen
Herlen in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Herlen as above, but one week later.
One Tulip and Nems for Orgasthme in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
One Tulip and Nems for Orgasthme.
Nems for Orgasthme in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Nems representing Orgasthme.
One Tulip for Orgasthme in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
One Tulip representing Orgasthme.
Mokyt piece found in the alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Mokyt
Arcel in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Arcel
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark (2013) featuring mostly Waxhead (top left and right), GAWD (top right of centre) © Aline M
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.
St-Laurent-Clark alley between St-Cuthbert and Bagg
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).
Waxhead in alley between St-Laurent and Clark photo © Mr Mocha
The
Waxhead piece in 2013, in progress. Photo © Mr Mocha.
Waxhead piece in alley behind St-Laurent
The
Waxhead piece in 2014.
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark; Dré aka Earth Crusher graffiti in the middle of this shop, Deep top left
The Waxhead piece seen in the 2012 photo above was later covered by a letters piece from
Dré aka Earth Crusher.
graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark © Aline M
Unidentified writer (photo © Aline M).
general view of a portion of alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Further into the alley, unidentified writer at the forefront, then
Ether.
graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Mang?.
graffiti by Deep
Same spot as above, covered by
Deep.
One Ton / Regimental piece in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Regimental One Ton.
Waxhead on door in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Waxhead
Cryote and Stela for the WZRDS GNG (left), Zoids (right) and lots of graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark © Aline M
Cryote and Foxtwat at the time for the Wzrds Gng (left) and Zoids (right), in 2012. Photo © Aline M.
Peru on garage door in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
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).
Turtle Caps (on door), Sake throwie at the top, Wastoids on the right, in Plateau End alley
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.
Turtle Caps (on door), Sake throwie at the top, Wastoids on the right, in Plateau End alley
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.
Turtle Caps (on door), Sake throwie at the top, Waxhead on the left, Wastoids on the right, in Plateau End alley
See above. This is something like
Turtle Caps‘ seventh version of this door. Notice the new
Waxhead piece on the left.
Turtle Caps on garage door, with Waxhead on the left, Sake above and Wastoids on the right, in a graffiti alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Turtle Caps‘s eighth version of the above garage door.
Turtle Caps in a Plateau alley
Turtle Caps in the same spot as above, one year later.
A positive creation by Chris Dyer and two wheatpastes by Turtle Caps (top right) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
A Positive Creation by
Chris Dyer on the left and wheatpastes by
Turtle Caps top right.
Chris Dyer (left) and Peru Dyer (right) in Plateau End alley
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 in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
El Moot Moot.
El Moot Moot (left) and Waxhead (right) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
El Moot Moot (left) and
Waxhead (right)
Collective work featuring Waxhead (left and bottom corner), Turtle Caps (above ladder), Futur Lasor Now (above door), Deadliest Rosa (flower) and El Moot Moot (right wall)
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).
collaboration between SBU One and MSHL in a Plateau alley
SBU One and
MSHL (see next).
The Wzrds Gng (left) crawling over a collaboration between SBU One and MSHL in a Plateau alley
Wzrds Gng crawling over the
SBU One and
MSHL wall seen above.
Germdee in a Plateau alley
Germ Dee
Germdee in a Plateau alley
Germ Dee
Germdee in a Plateau alley
Germ Dee
Germdee in a Plateau alley
Germ Dee
Deko in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Deko
Sake in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Huge Sake throwie
Hitem graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Hitem
Kzam graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Kzam
Jaws graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Jaws
Devil in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Devil
Balis in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Balis
Arcel
Arcel
BFour aka Beeforeo (bottom) and Scaner (top) in alley between St-Laurent and Clark © Aline M
Beeforeo aka Bfour (bottom) and
Scaner (top). Photo © Aline M.
Scaner graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Scaner
Soma graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
Soma
L5 graffiti in alley between St-Laurent and Clark
LS (Eles)