Nuit Blanche Toronto 2022

The crowds were out and so was I for the all-night celebration of art— think performance: sound, video, AR, as well as more conventional ‘art’.

There were three things I saw in the downtown area that I liked: Loom (at the Church of the Holy Trinity behind the Eaton Centre), Avataq (on Yonge St. at Temperance St.) and Confluence (at The Bentway and Exhibition Place).

Loom from elsewhere collective was an intriguing and beautiful assemblage of organza ribbons that acted as a screen for projections that repeated depending on what ribbons were in the projections path. Intense images of eyes and other facial features juxtaposed with streetcars — a very Toronto image. These elements were an effective comment on our coming together after COVID has kept us apart for so long.

Loom by elsewhere collective

Avataq by Couzyn van Heuvelen, was everything a piece for Nuit Blanche should be: big — really big — suspended above the street, and lit so everyone could see it. In this case it paid homage to the avataq, a tool that tracks and tires marine animals in order to catch them. It caught me as well.

Avataq by Couzyn van Heuvelen

Confluence by Striped Canary was a massive, immersive site-specific installation comprised of interlinked picnic table structures that represented the many tributaries that have shaped Toronto. With the sound field composed by Anne Bourne, the emerging and rising water courses were undeniably powerful, with both simple materials (and I mean a lot of linear feet of 2×4’s) and a big idea. Confluence is one of the extended exhibits, viewable Wednesday to Friday from 5 pm to 9 pm, till October 16.