Luminato

I recognized many of the treasures in Trove, painted on the brick walls at the Hearn. What will happen to the series now that Luminato is over? Will they be reclaimed or are they permanent? The Pavillion restaurant and art installations will disappear like Avalon. 

Many of the inside exhibits used ephemeral elements, light and space, to encourage play and wonder. There was a massive, floating disco ball that was mesmerizing. In another piece,  a colourful strip of film appeared to move into its own reflection, becoming an endless mobius. In a different corner, people were using their mobiles to paint the walls with light. 

Kids from the Regent Park school of Music performed on humble instruments - Home Depot drums turned upside down. There was a small crowd of about seventy people, and the warm lighting of the stage and audience created an intimate room without walls.

It was an eerie experience, enjoying these playful exhibits in the dark, cavernous space. Even in the afternoon, with bits of light coming in from outside, everything felt cloaked in darkness. 

Outside, I listened to a concert in the Biergarten. There was an airstream trailer set up as headquarters that I wished was part of the exhibit, just so I could explore the interior.

And there was the bee lady - a headless sculpture swarming with a bee colony. Untilled was decidedly odd. I wished I'd been there in time to hear the associate curator from the AGO talk about Huyghe's work, and the challenges associated with storing and exhibiting an art piece with living elements.

Sometimes it felt I was in a post-apocalyptic world, sometimes I felt like it was a place of beginnings. So much energy went into "turning on the Hearn" in celebration of Luminato's tenth anniversary. Is it really over?