''Swingsite'' was an
art installation
Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often cal ...
that consisted of a
playground swing hanging in the narrow space between two buildings in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. The swing was accessed by way of the alley behind
Queen Street West
Queen Street is a major east–west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original eas ...
, which is known as one of Toronto's best graffiti galleries. Toronto artist
Corwyn Lund erected the swing in September 2003 as part of a group show called 'Psychotopes' at YYZ Artists Outlet. As part of that show, Lund made and displayed a video about the installation.
Nicknamed the Secret Swing, its location became more widely known when Toronto
blogger
A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
s began posting pictures of it online and a number of articles appeared in local newspapers. It has since become a
cult icon among street artists and the youth of Toronto. It was located in the alley behind the store fronts on the south side of Queen Street, about a block west of
Spadina Avenue
Spadina Avenue (, less commonly ) is one of the most prominent streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running through the western section of downtown, the road has a very different character in different neighbourhoods.
Spadina Avenue runs south ...
.
In November 2005, the swing's seat and two feet of the swing's chains were removed. This was supposedly the work of
vandal
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...
s. Two people named Vince and Kai replaced it on December 13 of the same year. The new swing seat bore a date, signatures, and has writing on it: “The Secret Swing belongs to the people of Toronto.”
The swing installation came to an end in March 2006 when both the swing and the bar holding it up were removed and a fence installed to block the entrance to the space where the swing was installed. This may have been done to thwart any future attempts to replace the swing, as well as deter homeless people from sleeping in the space between buildings.
References
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Outdoor sculptures in Toronto
Public art in Toronto
2004 sculptures