"Darkness at the edge..."

  • Location: Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, 948 Queen St. West, Toronto, Ontario, M6J 1H1, CA
  • Deadline: May 10 2013 at 5:00PM
  • outbound link ↱
Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts’ annual curated exhibition presents,
Thom Sokoloski

Darkness at the edge…
There are places we find ourselves where light fades and darkness arrives.

That edge, precipice, or boundary, where the light meets the dark, can become a threshold into an unknown abyss or terrain.

It might be the moment after opening the door to reveal the darkness of your home or studio. Entering a cave on a bright day. Looking out at a moon-lit lake of dark water that you would never dare dive into. The end of an affair, marriage or friendship. We have all looked into the darkness at the edge, the place where we let go of what we had, knew or cherished.

Darkness at the edge is about those moments of liminality; the quality of ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in life and dream when you no longer hold what you held, but have not yet begun the transition to what you will hold. During a ritual's liminal stage, a participant "stands at the threshold,” often in a state of contemplation of what was and what could be.

I am looking for submissions that engage the public in the immediacy of these moments, an act of contemplation rather than an exercise in nostalgia.

All media will be considered.
-Thom Sokoloski


Please consider the following;
Before entering the gallery, the public will be able view a selection of works contained in the storefront area that will be enclosed and viewed through peepholes. Propeller’s storefront window measures 65” (165 cm) wide x 80” (203 cm) height. The total area of this part of the exhibition will measure 10 x 6 ft (please see gallery floor plan). Smaller works which can hung, wall-mounted or be free-standing considered.

Propeller’s Main Gallery the viewing experience will be that of a darker space. Traditional spot lighting will be used in this space for all works unless otherwise communicated or self-illuminated such as video.

The viewing experience in Propeller’s North Gallery will be in complete darkness. Works will be illuminated from mini-light sources carried by the viewer. Propeller asks that artists not propose works that could be damaged by or cause harm to the viewer - no sharp edges or obstacles.


How to Submit:
Please clearly indicate which section(s) of the call you would like to apply for. Only ONE art work per submission.

Submissions may be made online at: http://huutaart.com

Alternatively, you may send your submissions on CD or DVD to Propeller. We do not accept submissions via email.
Include the following on a CD / DVD:
1. One (1) image in JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PDF- 1200 pixels (max.) on the longest edge. Max file size 2MB.

-links to support/ additional images including installation shots or video.

2. Written statement relating to the proposed work to the exhibition, a brief story recounting the original or inspiration of the art work. (Max. 1 page total in DOC or PDF)
3. Details including: Title | Year | Medium | Size | Value | Contact Information
4. Please provide a printed copy of written materials with your CD/ DVD and include a non-refundable Entry Fee of $45.00 inclusive of HST (CND or US) cheque or money order made out to: Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts
5. A self addressed, stamped envelope if you would like your materials returned.

Mail works to:
Darkness on the edge…
c/o Thom Sokoloski
984 Queen st. West
Toronto, ON
M6J 1H1
Deadline: Friday, May 10, 2013 @ 5pm.

For more information please visit: http://www.propellerctr.com/
Questions: [email protected] | 416.504.7142


Thom Sokoloski- Bio

Thom started his career in dance and theatre training in New York City at Ellen Stewart`s LaMama ETC, Edward Hawkins Dance and the Open Theatre. In Paris he continued at L’Ecole Jacques Lecoq, LaMama de Paris and workshops with Grotwoski’s Polish Laboratory Theatre. His theatrical creations were informed by corporeal and sculptural imagery.

Returning to Toronto he became one of the original founders of The Theatre Centre and the Native Theatre School. Meeting composer and visionary R. Murray Schafer, he directed RA at the Ontario Science Centre and Holland Festival, Hermes Trismegistos at the Liège Festival and inside Union Station for Toronto’s World Stage 92, The Greatest Show and Requiems for a Party Girl.

He produced Michael Nyman at Massey Hall, the Master Musicians of Jajouka at Convocation Hall and the Sonic Boom series of contemporary opera and music. In co-production with the Banff Centre, Opéra de Montréal, Huddersfield Festival and Musica Festival in Strasbourg, he produced an international tour of Claude Vivier's opera Kopernikus in 2000.

His own works include the opera Electric Flesh with composer Wend Bartley, presented at the Opéra de Lyon, the libretto for Nosferatu for the Canadian Opera Company and Anxiety of Immortality at the Royal Ontario Museum. His final theatrical creation was Kafka in Love, a water-opera inside Hart House swimming pool with synchronized swimmers and a video-sound installation for the World Stage Festival 2003.

A series of commissions followed; National Capital Commission in Ottawa for The Balloons, the Fallsview Casino for The Royal Flush and Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche 2006 for Confinement of the Intellect which then, re-titled as The Encampment, had versions exhibited on Roosevelt Island in New York City (07) and Major's Hill Park in Ottawa (08) and more recently at last year’s Luminato Festival. In 2012, he was commissioned by Scotiabank Nuit Blanche and Chevrolet to create Funhouse, a drive through contemporary funhouse inspired by Tobe Hooper's film of the same name.

His curatorial practice started with Interactive 05 which he co-curated with Clara Hargittay for the Toronto International Art Fair, focusing on interactive media art in public spaces. This followed with Le Labo - Contact 2007 (Marc Audette), Zone A for Toronto’s Scotiabanks's Nuit Blanche 2009, and Futurism Today or NOT! and Dada Reboot!, independent projects for Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2011 and 2012.

Besides working as an independent artist and curator, he runs a collective studio with Jenny-Anne McCowan (Thomas+Guinevere). Their focus is on the large-scale temporal public art projects, which have included the several versions of The Encampment in Canada and US, a residency in Mapoon, Queensland and a development workshop at Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NYC.

Thom is presently creating Chorea Lasciva to premiere autumn 2013, a 16 screen video/sound installation.

Propeller Centre for the Visual Art's floor plan for 'Darkness at the edge…'