Italian-born Canadian artist and filmmaker Marco Brambilla has turned his attention to one of Toronto's landmarks in his newest work. Cathedral was filmed in the Eaton Centre during the height of the Christmas season. It uses complex kaleidoscopic high-definition Blu-ray imagery to dazzling effect, as we are shown the bright, shiny world of glittering surfaces – with which we are so familiar – in a completely novel way.
Consumers travel up and down escalators, and all of the paraphernalia of the manic season, neatly packaged, is on display. However, the final effect is of a maze, similar to a spider-web, which has to be negotiated. The Eaton Centre is an ordered space, neatly divided and organized, but under Brambilla's watchful gaze, we enter a very different and disorienting world. The installation is hypnotic, and the effect dizzying, with colour playing a central role in the creation of the final effect; the reds and silvers we associate with the season predominate.
Brambilla's work has been shown throughout Europe and North America. At a moment of city-building in Toronto, it is notable that he has returned to this urban space to place one of our enduring landmarks under his particular microscope.
Piers Handling
Marco Brambilla was born in Milan, Italy, and studied at Ryerson University. His career has spanned film, commercial and fine art. He has directed feature films including Demolition Man (93) as well as major commercial campaigns. His internationally acclaimed video installations have been exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, and Kunsthalle Bern, as well as at the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. His work has been collected by the Guggenheim Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.