February 2024 - Toronto ON
The walkway next to the Toronto Reference Library has been transformed into a vibrant collection of Arthur-Conan-Doyle - and Sherlock-Holmes-related street art thanks to the Sherlock Holmes Walk Mural Project, created by StreetARToronto in partnership with the Toronto Public Library, the Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, and the Toronto Transit Commission.
Note the street sign! Click here for more Sherlock Holmes at the Toronto Reference Library.
Information below taken from the ACD Friends of the Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, Toronto Public Library.
The artwork connects the vast fictional worlds of Conan Doyle and bridges the divide between the contrasting range of literary themes within his work from the logical, comical, eerie and the unknown. This crossover is depicted in the fantastical scene of a Victorian train moving through the book gate portals. The last portal (on the far right) is an homage to nearby Bloor Station to link the legacy of Conan Doyle’s literature to the present day.
My immediate thoughts were to illustrate the sense of humour that Conan Doyle created for his characters by some of his very funny, sarcastic, mind boggling and witty quotes and sayings which definitely set the mood of his stories.
I had to include his deerstalker hat as I do own one and patiently wait for winter to arrive every year in anticipation of wearing it. The tartan pattern is a roughly drawn version of the tartan designed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s great-great-step granddaughter.
The reference to appendix in the quote: ‘I am a brain, Watson. The rest of me is a mere appendix.’ (Conan Doyle’s "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone") makes me laugh as it refers to not only a so-called “useless” organ according to some doctors and people in the medical field, but also reminds me of an appendix in the back of a book, which also reminds me of books in general and the connection to libraries.
Book cover style, capturing two of my favourite quotes:
In the 2011 movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, directed by Guy Ritchie, Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr., says of one of his lamer disguises, “It’s so overt, it’s covert.”
“There’s nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact” Arthur Conan Doyle - Sherlock Holmes - "The Boscombe Valley Mystery".
ADRIAN HAYLES
The Japanese female lead adaption of the classic Sherlock Holmes, “Miss Sherlock”, struck my curiosity as a great modern rendition. Combining my graphic illustrative style to the Japanese origins of the reference creates a uniquely original piece of art work.
MEGAN OLDHUES
Based on one of Conan Doyle’s last stories ("The End of Devil Hawker"), my concept aims to capture the mischievous nature of notable bully, fraudster, and great shot, Sir John Hawker. In the local parlour, Hawker marks the edges of the ace of spades card to double his money in bets against Sir Charles Trevor. Ultimately his hubris is his own demise, as less prominent characters such as “ Lucy” the barmaid witness all. Eventually he is found out and outcasted which leads to his suicide using the pistol which brought him infamy.
The story’s irony in that “what often brings us success also brings us downfall” led me to conceptualize a piece emphasising the character’s mischievous nature pre-downfall. “There is sawdust on the floor, numerous wooden armchairs, round tables for the card players, a small bar presided over by Miss Lucy Stagg.” Conan Doyle’s descriptive writing brings readers back in time. Using harsh candle lighting, a smug expression, and muted neutral tones, a mischievous mood is established. This final design is a scan of an oil painting created with my own photo references.
A few quick words about my concept: 1870 London Skyline Silhouette Including St Paul, the River Thames and Sherlock Holmes’ hatted head. Below that is a still-life-like arrangement of Sherlock Holmes’ most common clues all done in black pen & ink sketchbook style, all of this is over top a brightly coloured background of paint splotches that add a pop of colour behind and highlighting the clues and the Holmes skyline.elements come from over 20 separate images sourced, tweaked and layered into the reference image from research into the particular plants and dinosaurs, etc. making for an original piece of art inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle.
HEIDI BERTON
I chose to focus on Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story/novella, "The Parasite", which was first published in Harper’s Weekly in late 1894. The story focuses on a professor who is a skeptic of all things of the occult, and whose mind is infiltrated by a woman gifted in mesmerism, and has him act out things he has no memory of, when she feels scorned by him. I choose to highlight aspects of the story as well as themes and even a quote that the narrator repeats throughout. From the idea of her control over him shown with a marionette, the game of cat and mouse they’re playing, a crucial letter, a broken heart, sulphuric acid and an important time on the clock, each aspect represents a hint at something in the larger story. The story, written as a series of journal entries, has him often repeating the phrase “oh, that devilish woman!” as he realizes all the things she’s made him do against his will.
Although there is such a massive array of literature to sift through by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I did ultimately settle on The Hound of the Baskervilles. This was a book my brother and I had on our shelf as kids and the cover image of the beast has always stuck with me. I have an attraction to images of ‘darkness’ and a curiosity about why society turns away from them. I thought I’d explore the beast a little more, and find some meaning in what it represents.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, there’s a strong dichotomy and contrast between two sets of values. Dark vs. Light. Beast vs. Man. Savage vs. Elite. Good vs. Evil. Mystical vs. Scientific. The Moor vs. the City. The Untamed vs. the Civilized. The former being represented by the hound, the moor, the convict, Stapleton, etc. and the latter by the aristocratic. And in a larger context of the time these can also be seen as a reference to racial and class dynamics of the Victorian Era. Eliticism vs. the ‘unwell common folk’. I thought about why darkness poses such a threat, symbolically; we all have the capacity for darkness and to deter from socially determined norms and rationality. We all have an untamed, more primeval self. We all have a beast in us. And in some way, most of us are working to maintain a curated, proper version of ourselves that fits into society’s norms/ requirements/ ideals. Throughout civilization. The threat of the inner beast, of our fear and yet our fascination with darkness and the supernatural.
And so although my first instinct was to draw the man and the beast at odds with each other, face to face, I actually decided to change the orientation so the beast is part of the man and in some sense you see how one can turn into or return from being it. There is some reference to the fog that appears in the book; the fog that blurs our vision momentarily. And as humans we negotiate those boundaries everyday and apply them to larger social divisions. Certainly reading about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, there seemed to be conflict for him in his scientific self vs. his interest in spiritualism (and therein the dichotomy between him, the author, and his creation Sherlock Holmes). Do we fear the things we fear because we know that we have the capacity to be them, even though they represent the opposite of what we claim to stand for?
My concept focuses on Conan Doyle’s The Lost World and takes into consideration many elements from that story.
With this mural, I am exercising that tone through a Conan Doyle inspired child (complete with big fake mustache) lost in a world of their own, and playing with various toys that are subtle direct links to some of the characters/ dinosaurs/fauna/landscape that are found on The Lost World’s plateau. These include Professor Challenger, the “missing link” ape men, allosaurus, pterodactyl, stegosaurus, plesiosaurus, palm trees, bamboo, gingko trees, mares’ tail, and volcanic rock (with caves in the rock).
The child is a Frankenstein’s monster of 6 different kids collaged together (separate face/ hands/ arms/ hat/ toys/mustache). And, the elements come from over 20 separate images sourced, tweaked and layered into the reference image from research into the particular plants and dinosaurs, etc. making for an original piece of art inspired by Conan Doyle.
TROY PYNN
I took inspiration from one of Conan Doyles’ science fiction short stories "The Disintegration Machine" published in the Strand Magazine in 1929. The story talks of a foreign scientist "Nemor" who has created a machine that is able to de-materialize matter and reconfi gure it with the pull of a lever, literally making whatever is within this machine disappear in front of your eyes! Oh the implications!
Professor Challenger, a character throughout many of Doyle’s stories, is accompanied by a journalist named Malone to visit Nemor and investigate the scientist’s magnifi cent claims.
Inventor Nemor ends up stuck in this non-material realm at the end of the story, suspended in the unknown, on purpose, as the ultimate censorship tactic from morally good Professor Challenger. Challenger has saved the world by casting out the Inventor who was incapable of resisting the temptation to use the technology for evil.
Conan Doyle was, I think, very spiritual. He had several family members die from complications at war, and probably thought about technology and war, as well as the afterlife. He, myself and many others, are heavily intrigued with the unknown experience (if there is one) after we de-materialize. This piece is meant to capture the energy of the cosmic dance of matter and what realms these particles may inhabit next.
This image was created by video feedback technique which has been part of my work for the past 2-3 years. The circular nature of the light and energy exchanged in this process creates a dazzling array of fractals and colour, reminiscent of the energy exchange found in Nemor’s machine in the story "The Disintegration Machine".
ANNWIN ARTS
My design is inspired by still-life art based on Round the Red Lamp and its 15 stories. I envisioned an old wooden shelf stacked with books surrounding a red oil lamp in the quiet of an old study. Gold highlights are added to make some of the elements jump and draw the eye to certain details. A skull is included to embrace the preface which Conan Doyle suggests: "one cannot write of medical life and be merry over it".."it is quite essential that you should paint the darker side". I added the silhouette of a mouse peeking around a book for some whimsy. I can almost smell the old books and feel the light flickering from the lamp. I experience a personal sensory connection to the design which I hope translates to those who view it.
BRENT HARDISTY
I envision this to be Sherlock Holmes discovering an ancient obelisk with a mixture of symbols and pictographs and hieroglyphs. On the other side would be Watson. Both are examining this mysterious object with origins they cannot seem to trace - possibly a relic from the ancient past before the end of the ice age of a lost cult.
My concept for the Sherlock Holmes Walk is inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’ s creative metaphor of the human brain’s process of thought as a “brain attic”. According to Conan Doyle, Holmes believed that we store our memories and experiences in rooms like that of a house. It was also referenced in BBC’ s TV version of Sherlock as his “mind palace”. I love this as a glowing, crown-like visual metaphor for Conan Doyle’s genius and was inspired to make Holmes’ mind palace a depiction of The Palace of Westminster in London, England.
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