Location: Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario
In RESPAWN at the Art Gallery of Ontario, co-commissioned and co-presented with Luminato Festival Toronto, Greenberg occupies the museum’s largest space. A palatial room, set with mirrored flooring creates a setting akin to otherworldly, polygonal landscapes found in digital realms, like video games. RESPAWN marks two firsts in Greenberg’s practice: his first large-scale performance on home soil, and the first time he has introduced text into his work, through a collaboration with fellow Canadian novelist and playwright Jordan Tannahill. For this performance, Tannahill wrote an original long-form poem inspired by the work of feminist psychoanalyst and philosopher Julia Kristeva. In gaming, to “respawn” is to resurrect. Here in Walker Court, Greenberg invokes the concept of respawning through multiple lenses: a journey and as a way to reclaim one’s origins and rearticulate them ultimately in search of truth.
Created, directed and performed by Miles Greenberg With textual contributions by Jordan Tannahill Curated by Bojana Stancic Co-commissioned and co-presented by AGO Toronto and Luminato Festival Production support from Centre Phi Original soundtrack by Miles Greenberg Robotics engineering and lighting by Quiver Tattoo consultation by Phantom Shore Tattoo Combat training by NYC Stage Combat Studio management by Yell Freeman Photography by Craig Boyco, Paul Ayers and Rebecca Tisdelle-Macias