The St. Clair subway station (Fig.1) is often used by hundreds of Torontonians daily but it also holds a secret alley that is covered with varying forms of graffiti. The public space is the backside of business complexes that have been prominently vandalized with graffiti for personal distaste.When one looks at this alley (Fig. 2) from far away, it seems like a normal public space that is just another part of the neighborhood. However, almost all the walls of the alley are greeting anyone who enters with interesting provocative messages that are either intended for anyone or for graffiti writers that can read the legible words on the wall (Fig 3.)

This is an example of when professor Koopman defined in lecture that space is socially constructed because this space makes a difference on how society perceives the neighborhood with this sort of vandalism in public property. (Lecture Oct 7 2015) This also depends on how well the society knows this space because space and society are constantly shifting and so the greater the sense of connection could be altered.

Moreover, I have been using the St. Clair station to commute to York University for the past three years that I have classes on campus. I have always noticed the graffiti marks that are visible from the bus station. I also had a work opportunity in this area at the local day care and used to walk by the alley most of the time to get to the station faster. However, the station feels like a comfortable and secure place to use but the alley does not. It could be due to the fact that not many people use this space and there is a dead silence in the area when you enter. I always walk by this place and have looked at most of the graffiti illustrations but no one can could ever guess at first that the entire alley is filled with different marks of graffiti e.g. (Fig 4)

Furthermore, the space where the station was always felt contend or safe but ever since the construction started – it feels a little uneasy outside to board buses during the night at the back of the station. In addition, the boarding to the bus is now right in front of the vandalized alley (Fig 5) The alley feels unsafe because the space is really dirt and it looks like as if it is a home for many ruthless ideas. It also smells revolting and there is garbage and alcohol glass shards everywhere. It seems that it is not very much used by anyone because paints of the wall are peeling off and the space looks like it hasn’t been managed for years. According to Harvey, this is classified as “experience space” because this space could be perceived through most of the senses such as touch and smell. (282)

Nonetheless, the graffiti that first got my attention states, “Something good – without malice but with joy + dedication happened in this building 8-12 – 12-14 Thank You” (Fig. 6) It provoked me to think what had happened in his building that motivated the writer to write this at the back side of the building. I also observed that there was something tinted red on the wall that either looked like paint or blood. However, I wasn’t able to differentiate between the two because the residue looked really old and piece of the wall from there was also peeling. Also, the text was written in a red colored utensil on the wall and usually the red color does not signify joy or dedication but is most definitely linked with anger. According to McAuliffe, “Critically understanding the graffiti can help divide dilemma between public discourse and public street art.” (129) It is evident that this graffiti on the wall is not street art but for public discourse purposes because the artist has used the speech format to convey to the audience. In addition, McAuliffe also informs that graffiti enable space to inform social politic that are provoked through the construction of graffiti in a public locality. Similarly, this piece of graffiti is also trying to contemplate or in other words convey to others of what special moment it was at the building during the encrypted dates. This also helps to identify that this is probably not intended for anyone that is not aware of the event but to document the event or remind those that were a part of it by engraving this information on the wall. Ultimately, this is signalling a private communication between people that are aware of what ever happened in this building.

This piece of graffiti or any other forms of graffiti in the alley do not make the alley pleasant because it just makes the area look dirtier than it already it is for the society (Fig 7) It also makes the space feel more unsafe because if so many writers were able to write in the alley without being prosecuted or caught then any sort of criminal activity could be easily done in this space. This is similar to what Sibley states, “Public space is often associated with “threatening” while private space is “secure.”  (156) Sibley further explains that the security of place provides insulation – this explains that this space feels more unsafe because it is threatening to the public community and if many people were able to break the law and draw on public walls then anything can happen in this space. In addition, the beer glass shards explain that people usually use the space for drinking purposes. Also, the fact that the alley has been not taken care of in awhile informs that it is a forgotten place that is not frequently patrolled by security or the government.

Lastly, Ruddick states, “Geographers have moved beyond viewing gender, race and class as a distinct category that operate independently in an additive fashion.” (8) This statement is apparently true because the graffiti crafted on the wall does not target a specific race, religion and or a class. It is also written in English and most Trontonians can speak English and could easily interpret what the writer is trying to convey to its audience. However, there are other graffiti s that are either symbols or written in another language despise English but I was not sure what exactly it was (Fig 8).

It could also be due to the fact that the community is largely multicultural  and therefore the writer may have intended it for people that could decode this piece. Moreover, the graffiti really does shape this place because it feels like an abandoned public space that people have used to portray their private creatives. However, these pieces should still be cleaned and in fact the entire alley needs a makeover because it does not feel like anyone or me would feel like a sense of belonging there. Another reason could be that some of the illustration show less creativity and more of an impression of frustration or anger (Fig 9)

In addition, I don’t know if it is a coincidence but there is also a place known as “The Healing Room” within minutes of a walk from exiting the alley (Fig 10) The place offers peaceful environment with therapies such as message to relax the body. Moreover, it still needs to be cleaned from the small suburban alley at Young and St. Clair street because it is really shaping how I or our society would perceive the environment of this neighborhood versus other neighborhoods that are well managed. As McAulliffe states, “Graffiti is often written in the knowledge that it will not last forever and this a condition that also shapes our society. (137) It is evident that Mcauliffe is intending advocate that most writers of this vandalism are aware that there illustrations are not going to remain forever on the walls.

Therefore, this public space should also be cleaned because it will definitely transform the space and the society. Especially, the lives of those that walk through this scenery everyday. As I personally believe that no space or property should be damaged or vandalized because it changes the meaning of our public space. Also as McAuliffe states, " When forced into making aesthetic judgment about content, advocates of the graffiti is crime and not art position are sometimes to offer grudging recognition..." (131) This statement expresses that when people are forced to make a connection with graffiti then it does not become a piece of art rather a grudging factor in their life.  Similarly, this environment also forces patrons to make a connection while walking through this space.

A better explanation of the environment is this  Video: