Creation : Destruction
Curated by Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta
Fort York Neighbourhood

The Bentway will be a location hub for Nuit Blanche Toronto this year, as part of the exhibition Creation : Destruction, curated by Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta (Toronto), the curatorial duo behind Art Spin. The projects use the geography of the site as a way to explore the cycles of creation and destruction in nature and beyond.

All things reside on the borders of creation and destruction.

Inspired by its geographical area, this exhibition will challenge our understanding of these seemingly contradictory concepts. They are extensions of each other, forces that both deplete and feed one another. There is nothing more primal, more essentially human, than the paradoxical relationship between creation and destruction, it is the essence of the natural world and our place in it.

Hoarding

Artist: Gareth Lichty
Medium: Sculptural Installation
Location: Skate Trail
On view until October 20

Vast amounts of hazard tape will wrap the pillars of The Bentway, creating a monumental, immersive installation that will become animated in the wind.

In “Hoarding,” hazard tape—a material typically used to keep people away from spaces under construction—will wrap a series of “bents” that hold up the Gardiner Expressway. The searing neon-yellow of the tape will act as a vibrant beacon that draws audiences toward the work, offering invitation rather than a caution, permission to enter rather than a warning to stay away. Once inside, visitors will experience a unique, immersive space that evokes the warp and weft of fabric on a loom, the walls vibrating in concert with the wind. Just as the tape’s bright colour will highlight the utilitarian overhead space of the expressway, it’s flickering, fluttering motion will transform the wind from an invisible, abstract natural force into something highly perceptible. By repurposing an industrial material that often signifies destruction, “Hoarding” will transform a hazard into a creative act, while giving audiences an opportunity to stand inside this transformation.

 

About the Curators
Layne Hinton and Rui Pimenta are the curators behind Art Spin. Since 2009 they’ve been activating decommissioned venues and unique public spaces with large-scale group exhibitions. Their curated bicycle-led art tours also showcase a range of new art in alternative sites. Notably, they reanimated Ontario Place’s West Island for “in/future” in 2016. At the heart of their curatorial practice is a passion for pushing the possibilities of what constitutes public art, and doing this through site-specific/site-responsive practices and ephemeral approaches.

About Gareth Lichty, Buffalo, USA
Gareth Lichty’s artwork often combines “handmade” techniques such as weaving with utilitarian materials like construction fencing, flagging tape and garden hoses. This creates paradoxically delicate constructions on large, industrial scales. His work has been exhibited across Canada and in Europe, China, the United States and New Zealand.

About Nuit Blanche Toronto
Toronto is transformed by artists on Saturday, October 5, 2019. Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s free all-night contemporary art event invites adventurous residents and visitors to take to the streets from sunset to sunrise. Experience Toronto transformed by hundreds of Canadian and international artists. One night only, all night long.

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