Toronto-based visual artist Shary Boyle is no stranger to projected works. Although she’s known primarily for her startling drawings, paintings and ceramics, Boyle’s recent marquee shows at the AGO, the VAG and other leading art institutions have each featured projected works that utilize image, movement and shadow in imaginative ways.
Boyle has stepped up this side of her practice for her latest project, a collaboration with Winnipeg-based singer/songwriter Christine Fellows called Everything Under the Moon. Running February 18 – 23 at Toronto’s Enwave Theatre, the show kicks off Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage series, which continues right through May.
Boyle, above left, and Fellows invited members of the press to document a dress rehearsal of the show Friday afternoon and while there were slight glitches and some evident nerves, Everything Under the Moon promises to be a magical, low-tech experience, miles away from the computer generated technologies so prevalent on big screens these days.
Everything Under the Moon tells the story of a bat and an insect winging their way to safety in the face of environmental chaos. They encounter all manner of animals on their journey which Fellows details in original song while Boyle manipulates transparencies on an overhead projector almost like a DJ scratching on a turntable.
The collaged images have an old-fashioned quality about them since they were assembled by Boyle using 1950s, ’60s and ’70s source material. The format is “deeply analogue and handmade,” says the artist. “Usually I would create with my own drawings and paper cut-outs but this time I wanted to use some research and some real world examples because we’re talking about animals that really exist.”
The potential for on-screen disaster is surprisingly high given the number of transparencies and shadow cutouts Boyle and her assistant Emma Letki are required to manipulate over the show’s 50 minute duration.
“You couldn’t enter this type of art-making practice unless you were meticulous,” observes the artist. “The materials call for a really careful hand, perfect placement and a lot of memory work. It’s just a lot of preparation.”
The hand work adds greatly to the charm of the show. “People have been socialized with photography and digital media,” remarks Boyle. “When we see a Pixar film or image we don’t really think about how many people were involved in creating that image but when I make something with my hands as an artwork you can see that there’s just a single bulb in this overhead projector, you can see my hands involved, the little flaws and mistakes, the humanity of it. And yet it contains all the magic that any post-production, modern filmmaking can contain. In my experience, children have always come to my performances and been completely delighted and sucked-in even though it’s so basic and bare bones.”
WHERE/WHEN: Everything Under the Moon is part of Harbourfront Centre’s HarbourKIDS and Family Day programming and runs Feb. 19 and 20 at 2 pm; tickets are $15 and $10 for children. Evening performances are slated for Feb. 18, 22 and 23 at 7 pm.
Harbourfront’s World Stage features exciting new works from Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and France/Brazil; ticket packages are available for a limited time offering savings of nearly 40 per cent. Call the box office for more info, 416.973.4000 or visit the World Stage website.
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