Islington mura " Ordinary Folk, Extraordinary Lives"

Located at 4970 Dundas Street West, west of the Islington Burying Grounds, this Village of Islington mural, titled Ordinary Folk, Extraordinary Lives, was painted by John Kuna in 2016. The accompanying plaque for this mural says:

This mural commemorates the original founding families of Islington who now rest in the Islington Burying Ground just east of this site, one of the oldest cemeteries in Toronto, dating from the 1840s. While the subject matter is somber, this mural has been infused with light reminiscent of both dusk and dawn to hint at life's cycle. Six windows remind us of our human vulnerability to the passage of time.

The settler families are depicted in a formal and dignified way to suggest their important and permanent role in the community's history. The few precious photos that exist of these original families have been incorporated into the mural design, including members of the Montgomery, Death, Shaver, East and Johnston families. Their faces are generally solemn because subjects were required to remain motionless during the early days of photography.

Each family's headstone is placed to strengthen the composition of the figures and add to their appearance of dignity and gravity. Details of the old tombstones showcase the beauty of their carved emblems and inscriptions. Today, most of the original tombstones have been consolidated into brick friezes to preserve them.

Images of trees taken from the actual cemetery have been used to fill in the background. These have been blended seamlessly with the tombstone motifs as a reminder of growth and renewal, and to show that our past, with its inclusion of permanence, is only a moment in our continuously evolving story as a community.

Ordinary_Folk
1. William Montgomery, his wife Jesse and family
2. Lucy Ellen Death
3. Peter Shaver
4. George Shaver
5. Rev. Stewart East
6. James Johnston, his wife Mathilda and family