Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller premiere Ship O' Fools at Luminato
It's the last thing you expect to find in the heart of Toronto: a salvaged thirty-foot Chinese junk. But its location isn't the only thing that makes this Luminato commission intriguing.
The image of the ship of fools, an uncaptained vessel full of aimless passengers absorbed in vanity and frivolity, has long fascinated writers and artists. Now, in a commission from Luminato, award-winning Canadian artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller turn this metaphor into a playful reality: enter the cabin of their transformed ship and find yourself immersed in a meticulously detailed experience of a wandering vessel.
The illusion is a delight in itself, but the cabin is also occupied by a traveller seeking salvation. Every element of your experience aboard reflects the traveller's obsession - and invites you, the viewer, to ponder your own voyage through life.
This event has been extended to June 28th.
To coincide with Ship O' Fools the AGO is presenting the rarely viewed work by Janet Cardiff, The Whispering Room, 1991, from June 9th to September 26th. Click here for AGO exhibit details.
very exciting this piece is premiering here