Tremendous Productions In Partnership With Harbourfront Centre Presents THE WATER SERIES By Naomi Jaye
A new immersive video art installation by Toronto artist Naomi Jaye.
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 14, 2023
Tremendous Productions, in partnership with Harbourfront Centre and Princess Margaret UHN presents "The Water Series", an ambitious, immersive video art installation by Toronto artist Naomi Jaye. This evocative work is a nine-screen, twenty-speaker voyage that spans Harbourfront Centre Theatre. Through sound, moving image and architecture, it invites visitors to journey through the profound interplay between water and grief.
“The Water Series” will be open to the public for free from October 14 to 22, 2023. The debut of this deeply personal work during Breast Cancer Awareness Month holds special significance for Jaye, as her exhibit's three parts explore the years after her mother's death from breast cancer.
“My mother died of breast cancer ten years ago. After her death I started swimming at my local pool. I also started having annual MRIs as part of a high-risk breast cancer clinic.” shared Jaye. “The grief I felt was profound, like I was constantly surrounded by water, at times drowning and at times floating. This installation is an emotional record of that time, of how grief can be funny, absurd, quiet, and calm. It is complex.”
The multi-disciplinary installation starts with MRI, where the viewer is witness to a woman's experience inside a magnetic resonance imaging machine for breast cancer screening. It continues with POOL, where they sit inside a community pool change room as women undress. The third, SAIL, acts as the connective tissue in the exhibit, a moment of reprieve — the viewer is bathed in calm waters. The installation also has an interactive component where viewers can create an origami boat with a message inside about their experiences with grief.
For “The Water Series”, Jaye teamed up with Dora-award-winning dance artist and choreographer Molly Johnson, who delivers an electrifying performance in the exhibit's dance-based video loops.
Tremendous Productions is also teaming up to offer three free community programming opportunities during the show's run: 'Written in Water', a poetry and movement workshop hosted by poet and performance artist Fan Wu; 'Threads of Change, a mix media therapeutic intervention where participants can reflect on grief and loss through a personal article of clothing with registered psychotherapists Luci Dilkus & Vitina Filiberto; and an artist talk with artist Naomi Jaye and choreographer and dancer Molly Johnson.
The Water Series exhibit is free and open to the public. Video content contains nudity and sensitive material not suitable for children.
Dates & Opening Hours
Saturday October 14 10AM-6PM
Sunday October 15 10AM-6PM
Wednesday October 18 4-8PM
Thursday October 19 4-8PM
Friday October 20 4-8PM
Saturday October 21 10AM-6PM
Sunday October 22 10AM-2PM
Location
Harbourfront Centre Theatre
231 Queens Quay W, Toronto
Tickets
Free Admission, no ticket required
Donations to The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre for Breast Cancer Research will be collected on site and online via Tremendous Productions website.
For more information about "The Water Series”, please visit:
Naomi Jaye's debut feature film THE PIN opened in theatres across North America to rave reviews. The New York Times declared "it is almost bewildering to think what this first-time feature director could build with a larger budget." Naomi's second feature film THE INCIDENT REPORT is adapted from Martha Baillie's Giller long-listed novel of the same name stars Britt Lower (Severance) and Tom Mercier (Synonyms) and is executive producers by Charlie Kaufman (I'm Thinking of Ending Things). It is set to be released in 2024.
Naomi has recently expanded her screen-based practice to include large scale video installation. The Water Series will be her third installation to be mounted in the three years. Recent works include MIRIAM'S WORLD, a microcosm of a public library and MRI, which was mounted at the Meridian Arts Centre. Naomi continues to investigate the architecture of installation at Queens University where she is completing a PhD. Naomi is a lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University.
With a flair for cinematic scale and visual storytelling, Tremendous Productions, helmed by film artist Naomi Jaye, creates film experiences for the world stage that provoke emotion through a combination of unconventional storytelling and striking visual execution.
Through its innovative combination of moving images, set design and storytelling, Tremendous Productions creates immersive experiences that focus on audience engagement.
Tremendous Productions mounted its first immersive experience in 2021 during a global pandemic. Seeing the powerful impact of immersive arts as a tool for community building, they were inspired to refocus their mandate: art should be accessible to all. They hope to empower audiences to engage and change our world for the better.
Harbourfront Centre is a leading international centre for contemporary arts, culture and ideas, and a registered, charitable not-for-profit cultural organization operating a 10-acre campus on Toronto's central waterfront. Harbourfront Centre provides year-round programming 52 weeks a year, seven days a week, supporting a wide range of artists and communities. We inspire audiences and visitors with a breadth of bold, ambitious and engaging experiences, and champion contemporary Canadian artists throughout their careers, presenting them alongside International Artists, and fostering national and international artistic exchange between disciplines and cultures. Harbourfront Centre gratefully acknowledges its Programming Partners: Government of Canada, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and City of Toronto, as well as its Corporate Site Partner: Labatt.
Artist Talk with artist Naomi Jaye and choreographer and dancer Molly Johnson:
Date: Saturday October 14, 2023
Time: 2pm - 3pm
Location: Harbourfront Centre Theatre Lobby
Admission:Limited to 30 participants. Free with online registration.
Please sign up here: https://www.tremendousproductions.ca/communityevents/artisttalk
Written In Water Poetry and Movement Workshop
Date: Sunday October 15, 2023 (exhibit 8 hrs)
Time: 2pm - 5pm (exact time)
Location: Harbourfront Centre, Main Loft, 235 Queens Quay West
Admission:Limited to 15 participants. Free with online registration.
Please sign up here: https://www.tremendousproductions.ca/communityevents/writteninwaterpoetry
Threads of Change Mix Media Workshop
Date.Saturday October 21, 2023
Time: 10am - 4pm
Location: Recess Community Space, 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 354
Admission: Limited to 10 participants. Free with online registration.
Please sign up here: https://www.tremendousproductions.ca/communityevents/threadsofchange
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