Morden Yolles, the celebrated Canadian structural engineer and photographer, and I discussed my recent exhibition Blueprint. We also discussed my large-scale public art commission for Great Gulf’s new residential building at 25 Richmond Street East. I worked as Yolles’ personal assistant for 14 years, and we remained close friends.

OBITUARY

Morden Yolles (1925 – 2024) passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by family, on Monday, January 22, 2024, in his 99th year of life. Mordy was the son of Leon and Dora; the devoted husband of Edie; and the loving father of Eric and Dylan. He was the youngest brother of Burle, Ruby, Sylvia and David; and had a special bond with his sisters-in-law, Louise Yolles and Gerry Wasserman. He was the beloved uncle of Catherine, Ian, Joanne, Vanessa, Jeffrey, Hal, Aaron and Michael, and their partners and children. – Published by The Globe and Mail from Jan. 25 to Jan. 31, 2024. Read the full obituary HERE.

BLUEPRINTS

Morden Yolles asked me how I came across the information about Shea’s Victoria and whether I had known about it. ERA Architects did a heritage assessment of the Toronto site, which they gave me. I started looking into that history and discovered the vaudeville theatre, Shea’s Victoria, which once stood on that corner. The architect designed the theatre in the Beaux-Arts style, which is very frilly and ornate. This style appealed to me because I am fascinated by patterns and design. I started looking at the blueprints and riffing off these patterns with playful colours and lines. They had to tear the theatre down in 1956. A parking lot stood here until 2018.