AT Reclaiming Beauty, Kidist Paulos Asrat writes about this portrait of Hazel McCallion, recently retired mayor of  Mississauga, Ontario. McCallion, who was first elected in 1978, is the longest serving mayor of the municipality and has left politics in her nineties. According to Miss Asrat, “The entire city center is full of her touches, giving this rather bland Toronto suburb a character of its own.” The Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Garden, below, is among the civic improvements made during her tenure.

However, the Pakistani artist, Shaheed Rassam, portrays McCallion as clearly a sinister figure. Unbelievably, this menacing portrait hangs in the Mississauga Council of Chambers. Miss Asrat contends the painting is a deliberate attempt to demonize the Canadian city’s heritage. Rassam is quoted as saying:

“I was very much inspired by the mayor’s service to the community over the years…She’s so full of energy and I tried to capture that part of her eternal soul in the portrait.”

Apparently, in his view, McCallion’s soul is positively diabolical, which raises the question as to why the council would countenance such civic self-loathing.

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