I was invited to participate in a local street art & graffiti alley jam last week and decided to paint a baby mural showing what images come up to mind when I think of a world without police. The fireweed is a common wildflower that grows first in environments that have experienced trauma, like through forest fires. It it neither rare nor delicate, but absolutely stunning and vibrant.

I wanted to illustrate life after destruction. I also added will-o-wisps, which are an archetype in many different parts of the world to symbolize supernatural spirits. In this case, I see them as the lost souls of the police workforce who cannot find redemption or peace!

All in all I had a great time and overcame lots of different technical challenges while producing this mini mural. My creative process went along these lines: design with digital art making app on a tablet with photo references; project the design life-sized on the wall with a digital projector at night, and trace it; mix weird water-based latex paints together; search the town for brighter pigmented paints; repaint; body ache. It took me 5 days.

There were great contributions by other artists that you can see below and on the Instagram account of Canettes de ruelle. I was especially glad to see an important proportion of women participating and taking up major space.

I finished off my contribution with a typical wheatpaste piece of a femme bloc and some extra fireweed

You can check out the Coalition calling for the defunding of the Montreal police service at defundthespvm.com