Location: South side of Queens Quay West (Bathurst St to York St)

Opens June 30 (approx)
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As you walk along the waterfront, imagine you are in a video game. How would you play it? Stroll to the soundtrack accessed via the QR code on the ground decals.

Midsummer Mix Vol. 1 sees GTA pixel artist Nelson Wu playfully transform the everyday icons and landmarks of Toronto’s waterfront — from the CN Tower to the Toronto Island Ferry Terminal, Billy Bishop Airport to the Toronto Music Garden — into unique levels of an intimately local video game.

Here, flying fish, fierce dragons, and other fantastic creatures inhabit the spaces once so familiar to us, encouraging us to see the waterfront in another way. Rendered as street banners along a length of the lakeside Martin Goodman Trail, they hint at Toronto’s tourism industry: both local and international. Amidst COVID-era travel restrictions, this is a journey to spark the imagination and explore a world unknown.

Accompanying audio by Wu’s frequent collaborator, GTA composer biosphere, creates a nostalgia-infused yet distinctly contemporary soundtrack to our waterfront journey. Ranging from dreamy to energizing, biosphere’s sounds seamlessly blend fantasy with reality. Signaled by Wu’s visuals, and accessed by personal device through a series of QR code prompts along the path, biosphere’s audio invites us to turn on, tune in, and level up our waterfront experience — within a summer where we could all use a power boost.

 

 

Commissioned by The Bentway Conservancy and presented

Midsummer Mix Vol. 1 is a part of The Bentway’s Playing in Public season, a collection of outdoor and online projects that invite you to rediscover “play” in the city.

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About Nelson Wu

Nelson Wu is a Chinese Canadian artist who creates pixel art and illustration. Graduating from OCAD University, he is currently working in the video game and entertainment industry. He has produced a variety of illustrations, pixel art, and animations. He is inspired by his time in Asia; a sense of nostalgia and surrealism are often themes present in the work.

 

About biosphere

biosphere is a Taiwanese Canadian composer and producer based in Toronto. He started out experimenting with lo-fi hip hop and orchestral music, but is now focused on branching out into R&B and hip hop. Although his ultimate dream is to compose OSTs for anime and movies in the future, he is more than satisfied creating beats to make a listener’s day a little bit better.

 

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Midsummer Mix Vol. 1 is supported by: