Jungle Ling is a Canadian artist based in Toronto, Ontario. He was born in Taiwan of Hakka heritage and grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario after his family migrated there in 1976 when he was 12 years old. He did have a brief career as a Certified Steel Fitter after attending Mohawk College in Hamilton prior to entering university as a mature student. Jungle eventually settled in Toronto in the 80s while attending college in a Counselling program in that city. Although he had excelled in the arts through school, various social and peer influences prevented further personal pursuit and development in the arts. It was his role as a counsellor and art program facilitator at a First Nations recovery lodge in Toronto in the late 80s that generated the spark to pursue his own art unapologetically.
Throughout the 90s and the early part of the 20s, Jungle paired his artistic practice with his roles as a professional counsellor in the agencies he’d worked for in the under-serviced areas within the GTA. Invariably the population mainly consisted of ethnic minorities and the financially disadvantaged in these regions. He initiated art projects such as community murals, sculptures and banners with the people he’d worked with the, age spanning from youths to seniors. He’d also, on occasion, travel to Manitoulin Island to work with First Nations Youths on artistic projects. He is currently a part of an artist team that facilitates community engagement in artistic events. They have worked from Whitehorse to Moncton.
Jungle’s artwork, including paintings, sculptures or public murals, often reflects his values and life journeys along with the connections he’d made. Many of these connections were made during his numerous trips crisscrossing Canada on a bicycle and drawing the people he’d meet along the way. One such journey was in Dawson City, Yukon, where he’d spent two winters sketching well over 200 people in the area.
Jungle’s public mural creations began in 1999, with many within the GTA and, recently, the Niagara Peninsula. They range from multi-storey buildings to traffic and Bell boxes. His involvement in sculpture installations began in 2003 in a City of Toronto park, where he was commissioned to create a multi-piece permanent installation. In recent years, his installations had been shown at Ontario Place, City of Mississauga as well as with various BIA-sponsored fixed-duration celebratory interactive art events.
We’re They
(This Traffic Box is located at Maple Avenue and Gailbraith Avenue / Corner of the Home Depot Entrance)
Silhouettes of people done in colours spanning the colour spectrum. They reflect people we are likely to see on our streets or public places.
