The end of 2007 has me in the midst of an off-season “Spring Clean”. Thus far the archaeological dig of six years worth of stuff has uncovered: To-Do lists, receipts, foreign currency, programs, pamphlets, bits of hardware from a long-lost lamp, class notes and handouts, coursepacks and postcards.

In the spirit of revisiting the archives, I thought I would take advantage of my new scanner and share a few shots taken over the past six years. I don’t know yet if I’ll do another installment of thematically grouped photos, but this one at least, brings together pictures of permanent marker scrawls—words of protest for the most part—taken in T.O. and in a few other North American cities.

(And while we’re on the subject, Montreal-based Urbanphoto.net has an amazing collection of photographs of signage, graffiti and much more from cities around the world.)

“Shoot film, not heroin”– Vancouver, B.C., August 2003.

“Feminism is the radical notion that womyn are people”–TTC, Toronto, c. 2001.

“Osez vivre sans…” (Dare to live without…)–Montreal, QC, c. 2001.

“Resist, resist, with your bodies & your fist/Gender rules are not defined/Don’t let this ad pollute your mind”– College & Bathurst, Toronto, c. 2001.

“Don’t let an ad tell you what your body should look like/ This woman’s body is beautiful”– Queen’s Quay & Bathurst, Toronto, c. 2001.

“Defend America: Eat Bush”–Ann Arbor, MI, August 2006. This is the odd one out– it’s not a permanent marker scrawl, and the original message is extended rather than admonished. Still, it’s so great that it could hardly be excluded on those grounds alone…