Smoke and Mirrors, John Dickson

Something great is happening on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. Between March 2nd and April 16th eighteen site-specific artworks created by members of HIC, the Hart House Installation Collective have been installed throughout Hart House.

Each work has been thoughtfully researched and expressly fitted into the building – one is suspended loftily over the swimming pool, another holds its ground as a basketball back-board, several hang ominously from stairwell light fixtures, and others have been opportunistically inserted into architectural frames such as vestibules, door and windows.

I took my son and his cousin last weekend to see it. Both boys are enthusiastic scavenger hunters and budding map-readers so the excursion was a great success. They found all the works except for Max Streicher’s suspended inflatable clouds, which we couldn’t get to without becoming part of a tour group - and unacceptable activity given the treasure hunt mentality we were all working with.

John Dickson’s Smoke and Mirrors featured here, part fun house and part mirage, cleverly references architecture’s dependency on nature for its pre-existent formal inspiration, all the while maintaining a light touch, a keen eye, and a great sense of humour - a sentiment that many of the exhibition work’s share.

Hart House is open to the public from 7:00 a.m. to midnight seven days a week. Visitors are invited to take a self-guided tour any time during these open hours. Free guided tours of the
exhibition leave from the Hall Porter’s Desk of Hart House at the following times: Mondays, 7 p.m.; Wednesdays, 4 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 p.m. (no pre-registration is required).