Infamous street artist, Banksy, has spent decades crafting incredible pieces of work all around the globe. While much of the ongoing allure comes from a secret identity, there is no denying the sheer brilliance of their boundary-pushing product. Imitators have tried to replicate the British mastermind, but even to the untrained eye, there's nothing more distinguishable and impressive than an original Banksy piece.
Throughout the last few years, we've seen more and more Banksys appear in major cities everywhere, with some even popping up here in Canada. Back in 2010, Banksy was shown spraying around Toronto during the filming of Exit Through the Gift Shop. While some of these drawings were eventually destroyed, two pieces have remained on the facade of downtown buildings. In 2014, one of those creations was in danger of being lost forever. The piece named Guard with Balloon Dog was on a building slated for demolition, so a group of art aficionados decided to purchase and save the chunk of concrete housing the piece.
Guard with Balloon Dog was kept in storage for a few years until its new owners, Menkes Development, decided that Banksy should be shared with the public. After a long and painstaking restoration process, the art was redesigned to be displayed for all to see. The folks at Menkes coordinated with the city of Toronto to find a permanent spot for the graffiti, and finally settled on the underground PATH network. The new installation was unveiled last week, and was obviously a big hit with passersby.
While it's totally cool that the art is now publicly displayed, we were never given a full breakdown of just how Guard with Balloon Dog was saved. Now, our questions can be answered by watching a special behind-the-scenes video of the entire restoration process. This past week, Menkes Development shared a 9-minute documentary about the whole operation, and you can watch the clips below via YouTube. If you'd like to visit the art in-person, be sure to venture into Toronto's underground PATH.
