The Bright Web: Weaving Art and Technology at Nuit Blanche
As the city of Toronto prepares for another mesmerizing Nuit Blanche, we're excited to spotlight an installation that promises to captivate audiences with its unique blend of art and technology. The Bright Web, created by the talented duo Roxanne Ignatius and Brandon Michael, is set to transform Sankofa Square (formerly Yonge-Dundas Square) into a mesmerizing world of soft sculpture and shadow play.
Meet the Artists
Roxanne Ignatius
Roxanne Ignatius is a Toronto-based textile installation artist, sculptor, and costume designer who draws inspiration from folk arts, traditional textiles and weaving, and the natural world and our place within it. She has created interactive textile installations for Harbourfront Centre, Summerworks Theatre Festival, Luminato Festival, as well as public parks and music venues across the city. As a frequent collaborator with actors, puppeteers, musicians, dancers, and performers of all kinds, Roxanne builds unorthodox connections across art forms and looks for audiences outside of the gallery setting. Her set and costume design has been shortlisted for the Prism prize, won the Summerworks Excellence in Design award, and has been featured in NOW Magazine and CBC Arts.
Brandon Michael
Brandon Michael is a multidisciplinary performer, musician, music therapist, and educator who has performed at beach raves, art galleries, and everywhere in between. Brandon’s work is highly collaborative, weaving soundscapes into the worlds and concepts of illustrative, video, sculptural and performance artists, and helping to create expansive interrelated media performances. His immersive installation work has appeared at Summerworks festival, Wavelength Music, and Nuit Blanche.
The Bright Web: A Fusion of Textures, Projections, and Sonic Environments
Roxanne and Brandon will bring their wonderful flair for textures, projections and sonic environments to Sankofa Square with The Bright Web. The Bright Web is a world of soft sculpture and shadow play where one meets an extremely online spider that dances to a sound collage of bells, ringtones, and chat notifications. The Bright Web asks audiences to recognize their own animal natures, be present at the moment, and reflect on the threads that connect us all.
The Bright Web will be displayed at Sankofa Square during Nuit Blanche on October 5th from 7 pm to 7 am.
Inside the Mind of the Artist: An Interview with Roxanne Ignatius
Read the following interview with Roxanne Ignatius to gain further insight into the creation and thought process behind The Bright Web.
1. Nuit Blanche’s theme this year is Bridging Distance, which invites us to explore the multifaceted ways we experience and understand distance, while also reimagining how we can bridge distance through art. Can you speak to how The Bright Web incorporates this year’s theme?
I’m interested in using animal knowledge to look at human experience in a new way. Spiders experience the world through touch and vibration, so a spider’s web is like an extension of their arms, an expansion of their senses. Spiderwebs are also a metaphor for the internet, which humans use to expand our reach, our ideas and experiences. Something written on the internet can have an impact on the other side of the world. I want to use surrealist imagery to make people re-imagine the borders between each other.
2. Can you tell us where the inspiration for The Bright Web came from?
I’m inspired by animal artistry, creatures like spiders and bees and birds who build homes that are so simple, beautiful and purposeful. Humans have profoundly altered the landscape and created a world that can be stressful, inequitable and inhuman. We are surrounded by objects and distractions that often don’t make us happy. A spider's web is a gorgeous, ephemeral feat of engineering. It’s also a visual metaphor for the strings that both connect us and entrap us. Brandon and I use sound and visuals to highlight the contradictions of modern life.
3. Can you reflect on the essence of Sankofa (looking back to move forward) and why Sankofa Square is an ideal location for The Bright Web?
The Sankofa symbol represents learning from the past to envision a better future. In the past we haven’t appreciated the value and knowledge of the natural world. Too often people destroy natural riches in the name of progress. It’s important to stop and really consider what is working for us and what isn't, and consider the needs of the people who live and work here. Green public space is so important to a balanced life, and often inaccessible to working city people.
4. What outcome are you most excited to experience from the creation of The Bright Web?
Nuit Blanche is a wonderful opportunity to bring art to an unexpected time, place and audience. It’s such a delightful break from the ordinary. I hope to awaken people's sense of play and wonder.
5. What aspects about activating the downtown Yonge and Dundas community most appeal to you?
Yonge and Dundas is the beating heart of the city, full of energy and light. However there isn’t a lot of green space and nature here. I want to bring something tactile and handmade to this environment.
Don't miss this extraordinary installation at Nuit Blanche! The Bright Web promises to be a thought-provoking and visually stunning experience that bridges the gap between nature, technology, and human connection.