styleNorth

Every city has its share of kooks and colourful characters and Toronto is no exception. I’ve been aware of the “bugmobile” for several years having spotted it around town, and I’ve been on the lookout for it since starting styleNorth in June. Well, last week the stars lined up and I came upon the van with my camera at the ready.

How to explain the bugmobile? In fact, the vehicle offers some clues, which I was able to piece together and track down its owner. The trail led to a west-end house that’s even crazier than the van but I’m saving that for another post next week.

The vehicle belongs to Albino Carreira, a former construction worker who was disabled in a terrible workplace accident in 1993. Since then, Carreira has filled his time by fancifully transforming his home, yard and car into eye-popping spectacles.

The bugmobile may not be decor but it sure is decorated. The vehicle is covered with small plastic insects and assorted tiny toys of every description. The most obvious question is “why?” and even after interviewing Carreira’s wife and daughter, I’m still not sure of the answer.

At the end of the day it boils down to this: a man with too much time on his hands can be a dangerous thing. Carreira’s daughter Paula states the obvious when she says that her Dad is an “eccentric.” He loves to tinker and dress up that which is otherwise plain. And to his family, this crazy obsession is a harmless, if exasperating way for a tragic figure to keep himself amused.

Stay tuned for next week’s look at Carreira’s weird and wonderful domicile.