Ontario’s city capital is often perceived as a very serious and conservative city. We tour the vast concrete jungle of Toronto in Unframed’s next three episodes while exploring other perceptions of the city. Challenging the creative quo, we delve into the stories of three Toronto-based artists: BirdO, Ness Lee and Ben Johnston.

In this week’s episode, enter BirdO aka Jerry Rugg’s world. While he likes to stay anonymous under his audacious bird mask, his murals featuring brightly-hued surrealistic creatures definitely don’t go unnoticed.

Inspired by the friendly competition amongst all the amazing artists of the city, the Saskatchewan-native originally moved to Toronto to become an actor. He was introduced later to the street art scene and was instantly hooked — colouring not only the streets of Toronto, but also those of many other cities around the world,  “Once you cross that line and start to participate in the graffiti movement, it’s over for you, you’re addicted. Just instant addiction.” He explains.

Learn more about the artist’s artistic approach here.