Nuit Blanche 2024

 I see that there was no posting for last year's Nuit Blanche. I don't think I got enough pictures or videos to make it worthwhile. This year,  though, there were locations that I could follow more easily with a continuous walk, so I was able to see lots of different installations. Here are a few of them.

The overall theme this year was "Bridging Distance."

The first pieces were at one of my favourite art locations already, 401 Richmond St. West.

In the courtyard was this installation, Continuous-Connected, by Ksenija Spasic, a fascinating, eerie collection of multicoloured Day-Glo threads lit up by blacklight lamps.

Then, in the Abbozzo Gallery, was Living Algae Cyborg, by Vladimir Kanic. This consisted of a series of partially-filled tanks of water, along with a carbon dioxide-sensitive microphone. When a person spoke into the mic, the CO2 would be passed into the tanks, creating bubbles in the water!

Next, it was a walk down Spadina to Queens Quay for the rest of the night.

The first sight I saw was this eerie installation, Amphipoda Song, by Carolina Fusilier. As you can see, it consisted of these strange, waving/floating, jellyfish-like pieces that seemed to hover over the water, accompanied by unnerving electronic sounds.

These two photos show how they moved...

...but this video (a little dark, unfortunately) gives you an idea of the movement and the soundscape.

Next along the way was this fascinating piece, Distance to Mars, by the Manifesto Lab. It's a real-time measurement of the actual distance from here to the Red Planet. A reading would appear for a few seconds, disappear, be refreshed, and a new reading would come up.

As these three pictures show, the distance fluctuates constantly. I personally found this really cool!

(The lights in the background are Billy Bishop Airport and the Toronto Islands)

Then, there was this sculpture, The Probability Engine: Atlantic Overturning, by micha cardenas and The Critical Realities Studio. It's part of a series of pieces commenting on climate change, and the possibility of the Atlantic Ocean's currents reversing over the coming years.

Further along was Fraction Of Another Sun, by Kara Springer. As you can see by the photographs, the shapes in these lit panels would change, depending on peoples' movements nearby.

Then, there was this installation, I've Come to Find This Place, by Anique Jordan, a comment on Caribbean and Atlantic Black people's experiences. The metal shacks resemble post-emancipation shantytowns, and the voices recount legends of the time.

I don't think this was part of Nuit Blanche, but people were having so much fun here, you couldn't resist enjoying it! At the public square in Harbourfront, there appeared to be a big ground-level cloud, possibly from dry ice. Folks would almost disappear into it, then reappear. A prime place for selfies!

Around Sherbourne Common, there was this amazing video installation, Apartment, by Brian Leclerc. It was a projection resembling a series of monitors, showing different living spaces, like a cross-section of an apartment building. The title probably has a dual meaning, referring to "apartness" as well as the obvious one.

Here's a video of the projection, with sound, showing some movement. For instance, near bottom left, you can see a couple of people doing stretch-pushup exercises!

Finally, at Merchants' Wharf was another "motion-dependent"-type piece, Signal, by Jordan Shaw. These fabric shapes, lit from within, would change colours, depending on peoples' proximity to them.

It was great to get out again this year and see what new and interesting ideas would present themselves.

Looking forward to next year!