Articles

Moira McElhinney’s Photographic Images Improve the Look of Toronto’s Streetscape

2014-03-28
by photoxels
Before: A Traffic Signal Box. Photo: City of Toronto

Before: A Traffic Signal Box. Photo: City of Toronto

After: The above photographic image by Moira McElhinney is used to beautify a traffic signal box in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

After: The above photographic image by Moira McElhinney is used to beautify a traffic signal box in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The City of Toronto’s Outside the Box program, a collaboration between Transportation Services’ Public Realm Unit and local artists, is wrapping traffic cabinet boxes with a graphically attractive, synthetic wrap.

  • The more than 2,200 traffic-signal boxes across the city contain equipment that controls the traffic signals.
  • The boxes are often susceptible to postering and graffiti vandalism.

Outside the Box project’s benefits include:

  • beautifying city streetscape by using artwork by local artists, which include the photographic images by the late Moira McElhinney,
  • reducing the impact of graffiti vandalism,
  • reducing the cost of cleanup and maintenance, and
  • supporting local artists.

This initiative is part of the City’s Clean Toronto Together campaign to keep Toronto streets clean and free of litter, posters and graffiti vandalism.

McElhinney (1956-2013) was a Toronto (Ontario, Canada) photographer who produced work that focused predominantly on nature and panoramic landscapes as she was “fascinated by the beauty and simplicity of the everyday world” she lived in.

“A native Torontonian, Moira studied Still Photography at Ryerson and Fine Art at Central Technical School. Her career started three decades ago 
custom printing photographs for commercial and fine art clients. She has developed a fine tuned visual 
sensibility for composition, form and colour.

Moira’s company Mac Photographics enjoyed a long 
standing business relationship with The Hockey Hall of Fame, managing the production of over 1000 prints from the hockey archives displayed throughout the Air Canada Centre.

Moira also volunteered to lend her expertise to humanitarian efforts such as Operation Photo Rescue.”

www.etsy.com

“Her love for landscapes and nature was captured in stunning photos and images of tree bark on slim metal panels. Moira was a dedicated and enthusiastic member of Artists Against the Mega Quarry.”

Artists against the Mega Quarry

Photo: City of Toronto

Photo: City of Toronto