Alien World

Alien World

Toronto has some odd exhibitions; they even have a huge Museum dedicated to just shoes.   http://www.batashoemuseum.ca/  But this is not about shoes. It’s about an alien world, a kind of underworld we visited.   

 

Toronto is a very active, artsy place with a very liberal, avant-garde point of view.

The city promotes ideas that are ‘far out’ to most folks.

Display of Arctic Footwear

So here is our story:

An email arrived in Carol’s mailbox advising her that there is going to be a night time event of a laser show. The location for this display was under the Gardiner Expressway Bridges, the address not existing on our GPS. Naturally, we went to see it. 

Not Quite Dark  Yet

Starting time was 7 PM on this Oct. 14 and we were on time; well we were a tad early but only because we found a parking spot by entering through the exit, instead of the entrance at the old Fort York parking lot. 

Carol thought it would be good to take some foldable chairs, which turned out to be ill advised, since those chairs only became ballast for me.

We had no clue as to where exactly the event would be; we followed other people who parked where we parked. At this time of day in Oct. the darkness creeps in very fast. It took no time and we were walking even more carefully, trying to avoid the many modern traps the city puts up, like potholes, curbs and barriers. We took the long way around because we had no idea it was this close to where we had parked. 

You Are Supposed to Feel Like You Are Underwater Looking Up

When we arrived under the Bridges many people were already looking up. A few people were standing on an elevated walkway but I could not find the entrance to that so we joined the majority of the crowd and gawked, seeing nothing for the moment. It was really dark by now; many people milling about yet nobody knew what to look for. We asked 2 young ‘guides?’ and one told us, in a very heavy British accent, to mind our steps. All of sudden someone yelled out loudly… 7,6,5,4,3,2 and….

The world around us changed. It got even darker; it was hard to discern the people next to you. Most people wore black clothing which added to the effect. 

 

Undulating Lights Look Like Waves From Underneath

Above us a haze appeared, created by fog machines that were intermittently distributed along the whole area under the Bridges. The dense ‘clouds’ thus created rose, drifted and mingled with the wind that blew around us, coming off Lake Ontario. The world above us turned blue and the whole had an ethereal quality to it. ‘Clouds’ or were they waves; started floating just above our heads. 

The crowd started snapping pictures with everything they could find in their pockets. Some had the foresight to bring a camera, like Carol did, but I, like many, was relegated to my iPhone. I never thought I would need a night time mode so I got what I got when I snapped away. 

Fog Machines and Moving Laser Lights Create This Effect

Strong laser light shone from one end to the other, kept in a certain motion one could see creeping up the pillars or support beams of the Bridge(s). Our world as we knew it just minutes ago, was changed to an Alien World never seen before. We did not have a clear outlook any longer, everything turned fuzzy, unclear, distorted. Only in the far distance were the remains of what we knew, of what our lives were like before we got here. Looking up, the whole of it was now a new ceiling. Our upward vision was undulating, ever changing. Nothing was visible beyond our immediate blue horizon. 

 A man, the only man I hope, had blue balls. He played with them. Swirled them around and around, looking sideways to see if someone took notice of him.

                                      Silly Man - Playing With His Blue Balls       

People behaved differently below the blue. Voices became subdued. Visions blurred. Shadows were more expressive. 

Yet, as a mass, people walked about, without guidance they moved from one end to the other, constantly looking up. 

                  Video Gives a Better Idea of the Movement of the Fog and Lights

The British girl was correct; it was time to mind our steps. 

We carefully approached the end, the world beyond the blue lights and, even though it seemed complicated to get there, we stepped out of the Alien surroundings back to our reality. This time we did not get lost, we knew where we had to go. We went home!

Yet, we saw many more people who were drawn towards the blue yonder; many already changing their behaviour and not talking before they even got there.

                                   Does It Feel Like You Are Underwater?

Waterlicht, created by the Dutch District Water Board is a travelling exhibition. Shows have been given in Amsterdam, London and Paris. The show illustrates the universal power and poetry of water. The larger than life cascading waves of blue light simulate a virtual flood to call attention to the rising water levels along Toronto’s shoreline.

The message this art exhibition gives is not a happy one, it gives food for thought.

Daan Roosegaarde, the artist, leaves you with an unusual point of view. It was Public Art at its finest.