The city transformed from sunset to sunrise
Ai Weiwei’s Forever Bicycles a highlight of Nuit Blanche
Strange lights, sights and noises speckled Toronto’s streets from Saturday night.
The dozens of oddities sprinkled throughout downtown from sunrise to sunset were all part of the annual one-night-only arts festival, Nuit Blanche.
Tree trunks clad in fluorescent pink LED lights gave off an otherworldly glow in front of First Canadian Place on King St., mimicking a bed of light pink flowers at their roots. A giant cube sat parked in the middle of Bay St., images of water and mountains streaming by on all four sides, accompanied by soft music and the sound of flowing water. A brisk breeze rustled the fabric, seemingly bringing the images to life. Mechanical fishing rods battled each other in a tug of war over an empty white canoe in the waters outside Roy Thomson Hall, lit by bright spotlights. Passersby leaned over railings and pressed their noses to the glass to get a better view of the eerie scene. While pedestrians of all ages marvelled at the unusual sights and sounds on the city sidewalks, Nathan Phillips Square was the epicentre of the evening. Several mammoth projects drew thousands to the square, including Forever Bicycles, a threestorey-tall installation by renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Onlookers marvelled at the thousands of interconnected bicycles, and strolled through the installation snapping photos and spinning wheels. Lit by pink and blue lights, the silver structure resembled a series of snowflakes.
Nearby, others watched Crash Cars, a piece by French artist Alain Declercq, where two driverless cars looped around an endless track, creating a figure eight. The stark white lights that made up The rose is without why, by French artist Boris Achour, illuminated the scene. Stretching almost 100 metres, fluorescent tube lights spelled out a short poem by17th-century poet Johannes Scheffler: “The rose is without why, it blooms because it blooms, it cares not for itself, asks not if it is seen.”