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Toronto Star
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Luminato Festival 2025: This new ‘immersive experience' is a monstrosity on the waterfront
Terceradix Luminarium 1.5 stars (out of 4) By Architects of Air. Until June 22 at the Harbourfront Centre. You would be forgiven for doing a double take as you approach 'Terceradix Luminarium,' a new immersive art installation on display at the Harbourfront Centre as part of the 2025 Luminato Festival. It's billed as a 'cathedral of light' and a 'monumental walk-in sculpture.' But, in reality, it's neither of those things. Instead, it could be more aptly described from the outside as resembling a supersized cluster of viruses: grey, alien and complete with spike proteins projecting from spherical bodies. Or an even better descriptor: a giant monstrosity on the waterfront. Things are much the same as you step inside this inflatable castle on steroids. That is, of course, after shelling out the $20 admission fee. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Its structure, created by the U.K. company Architects of Air, is comprised of curvilinear passageways, conjoining and diverging at odd angles. Walking through them, you feel like a blood cell, siphoned through a series of veins and arteries. For a pneumatic installation, it's fitting that the structure's design explores ideas of expansion and contraction. The architecture, featuring pointed windows and intricate geometric patterns, also occasionally recalls both Gothic styles and Islamic art. Cramped corridors give way to airy rooms with vaulted ceilings, wrapped around the perimeter with cosy alcoves (which you're free to sit in, as some visitors did, leaning their backs on the rounded exterior wall). But overall, the pervasive mood is one of drabness. The predominant colour: a purgatorial grey. And the only source of light: those small, slim windows. Walk through some of the rooms, play with those bouncy walls and soon you'll want out. When I visited 'Terceradix Luminarium,' it was during an evening that featured a musical performance. Violinists Daria Skibitskaya and Diane Kim led my group through the installation, all while playing an eclectic mix of short pieces, ranging from Simon and Garfunkel to Bach. The pair are competent instrumentalists and their choice of repertoire, curated by National Ballet of Canada concertmaster Aaron Schwebel, is inspired. But it's hard to picture a worse performance venue than the entrails of an inflatable castle. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Its acoustics warp the musicians' sound. That's even if you can hear them above the din of the generators, pumping air into the structure. (At one point, I was about to scream, 'Turn those damn things off already.' Then, I remembered that if we did, we'd probably all suffocate inside this humongous plastic balloon.) Though Architects of Air has been creating structures like 'Terceradix Luminarium' for decades, their continued popularity (or even rise in popularity) points to the Instagrammification of immersive art. Indeed, when I visited, it seemed like almost every other guest around me dropped $20 just to snap a photo inside the inflatable castle. Maybe they saw something inside this eyesore of an installation that I didn't. But for me, 'Terceradix Luminarium' is far from worthy of a spot on the 'gram.
Toronto Sun
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Paul Simon aging gracefully as latest tour, A Quiet Celebration, arrives in Toronto
Former Raptors all-star DeMar DeRozan shares thoughts about playing in Toronto Pickering boy, 13, in custody after 'sadistic' random slaying of elderly woman Paul Simon aging gracefully as latest tour, A Quiet Celebration, arrives in Toronto There's a fragility and honesty combined with humour and charm about Simon in his current state that makes you want to cheer him on Photo by Jake Edwards (photographer) Article content Paul Simon Massey Hall Thursday night RATING: **** (four out of four) Advertisement 2 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account or Sign in without password View more offers Article content Article content Recommended Videos tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Paul Simon aging gracefully as latest tour, A Quiet Celebration, arrives in Toronto Back to video tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Play Video Article content Paul Simon isn't slip slidin' away. On the contrary. The 83-year-old master storyteller — who is aging well in his twilight years — instead personifies the final lyrics in the Simon and Garfunkel classic The Boxer: 'I am leaving, I'm leaving, but the fighter still remains.' In short, Simon, backed by a crack band — including three percussionists and a string section — plus his not-so-secret weapon and wife Edie Brickell (formerly of the New Bohemians) who joined her husband for four songs, wowed on Thursday night at Massey Hall during the second of three shows at the venue, which he described as 'a musician's delight. You can hear everything.' Simon's A Quiet Celebration Tour may describe the tone of his two-hour-and-20-minute show — which sees him playing new songs, classics and deep cuts over multiple nights in intimate venues around North America because of the severe hearing loss he's suffered over the last few years — but it doesn't really do justice to the genuinely moving, sometimes melancholy career-spanning performance that unfolds. Advertisement 3 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content There's a fragility and honesty combined with humour and charm about Simon in his current state that makes you want to cheer him on. For example, when people were shouting out requests during the first encore, Simon cheekily chose instead to do a song he said he 'loathes,' Feelin' Groovy, and the audience couldn't get enough of it. It was during the recording of his latest album, Seven Psalms, that Simon began to steadily lose the hearing in his left ear. The condition initially made touring impossible, but with help from the Stanford Initiative to Cure Hearing Loss, and his own production team, Simon redesigned his entire stage setup to make performing work including moving monitors to surround him. The evening began with all 33 minutes of Seven Psalms, a serious, sombre and religious-minded collection of seven songs that segue one into the other as a continuous piece of music starting with My Lord and ending with Wait (the latter for which he was joined by Brickell plus the previous song The Sacred Harp). Your Midday Sun Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. There was an error, please provide a valid email address. Sign Up By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Article content Advertisement 4 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content #paulsimon sings America @masseyhall. Told us he found America again in Canada, 'a beacon in the dark.' #toronto — Jane Stevenson (@JaneCStevenson) May 30, 2025 Advertisement 5 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Then it was time for the mega-hits like the opening verse of America — he explained he'd currently found the best of America in Canada, 'a beacon in the dark,' Graceland, Slip Slidin' Away, Homeward Bound, Under African Skies (with Brickell again), Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio Down the Schoolyard, and three encores consisting of Feelin' Groovy, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, The Boxer, which produced lots of singing and clapping, and the show-ending The Sound Of Silence featuring Simon on stage alone with just his acoustic guitar. Me and Julio down by the schoolyard by #paulsimon @masseyhall #toronto — Jane Stevenson (@JaneCStevenson) May 30, 2025 Advertisement 6 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The band, meanwhile, which includes Bakithi Kumalo (bass) who's the last remaining band member from the Graceland band sessions, seemed to take as much delight in playing alongside Simon as they did in watching him, along with the rest of us. He is scheduled to play his final Toronto show on Friday night. SETLIST: The Lord Love Is Like A Braid My Professional Opinion Your Forgiveness Trail of Volcanoes The Sacred Harp (with Edie Brickell) Wait (with Edie Brickell) (INTERMISSION) America (First Verse Only) Graceland Slip Slidin' Away Train in the Distance Homeward Bound #paulsimon is Homeward Bound @masseyhall, which he called 'a musician's delight.' #toronto — Jane Stevenson (@JaneCStevenson) May 30, 2025 Advertisement 7 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The Late Great Johnny Ace St. Judy's Comet Under African Skies (with Edie Brickell) Edie Brickell joins hubby #paulsimon on Under African Skies @masseyhall #toronto — Jane Stevenson (@JaneCStevenson) May 30, 2025 Advertisement 8 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War Rewrite Spirit Voices Mother and Child Reunion #paulsimon classic: Mother and Child Reunion @masseyhall #toronto — Jane Stevenson (@JaneCStevenson) May 30, 2025 Advertisement 9 Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (with Edie Brickell whistling) ENCORE: Feelin' Groovy 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover ENCORE 2: The Boxer ENCORE 3: The Sound of Silence (solo without band) Article content Share this article in your social network Read Next
