The Shifting Space Around Us, 2014

Megan and Murray McMillan

New Media Installation

Megan and Murray McMillan’s work always requires teams of people to execute, a fact often true of filmmaking. However, what is unique about their work for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is that they are opening up their set for the people of Toronto to take a peek behind the curtain.

This new video, shot in front of a live audience at Roundhouse Park, consists of the artists as directors overseeing a film crew, actors and volunteers, rehearsing, doing retakes and getting the shot. Watch behind-the-scenes activity both in front of the set and also through live feed video projections of different takes over the course of the night.

The action centers on the train turn-around at Roundhouse Park, using train cars, actors, pulleys and scenic backdrops to enact a series of choreographed activities captured in a single tracking shot. These activities include the creation of sets through the use of pulleys and performers, to collapse and reform a series of design elements and changing theatrical backdrops. Actors, stagehands, camera crew and the artists all become part of the action as does the backdrop of the city of Toronto.

Megan (b 1975) and Murray McMillan (b 1973) have been married since 1997 and collaborating since 2002. Their work is a blend of sculpture, installation, video, performance and photography. They have exhibited at the Casa Masaccio Center for Contemporary Art [Italy], the Kunsthallen Brandts [Denmark], the State Museum of Contemporary Art [Greece], the National Museum of Art [Bolivia], and the RISD and deCordova Museums [USA]. They were recently featured during the Ikono On-Air Festival in Berlin. 

Schedule

Approximately every half-hour, a new film cycle is repeated from start to finish to get a single “take” of the 5-10 minute film (with time for reset, breaks, etc). The video screen will continuously be playing footage.

108

Roundhouse Park, Toronto Railway Museum

255 Bremner Boulevard

This project is outdoors.