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Menkes Developments yesterday unveiled a public art installation at its One York office tower featuring a stencil by British artist Banksy. The piece — dubbed ‘Guard with Balloon Dog’ — was originally applied to the rear façade of a vacant building that sat at 90 Harbour St. in 2010, when Banksy visited Toronto following the release of his film "Exit Through the Gift Shop". That same weekend, six other works credited to the artist appeared throughout the city. When Menkes bought 90 Harbour to redevelop it into One York, demo crews were instructed to protect the limestone panels featuring the art.
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One York, a 35-storey AAA office building developed by Menkes in partnership with HOOPP and Sun Life, is part of a 2M SF mixed-use project, Harbour Plaza, which includes 66- and 70-storey condo towers. All of it sits atop a four-storey podium connected to the PATH network, which is where the Banksy piece is installed. The effort was overseen by Toronto designer Johnson Chou, who incorporated the Banksy work into a companion piece he created, called Speculum. The Banksy restoration/re-installation and the creation of Chou’s accompanying works are part of a $2M public art package at One York / Harbour Plaza.
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