Snoozeland installation at the Workman Arts Pop-up Gallery in Toronto

1 – 30 November 2014
Workman Arts Pop-Up Gallery
1001 Queen Street West (just west of Ossington)
Toronto, Canada

Snoozeland is a multi-media art installation that combines video, animation, found footage, audio, projection, art, and sculpture. A large screen displays the main dream sequence, the product of the fantastical internal workings of a sleeping mind. To the side and all around is a diorama of a workshop of dreams staffed by plush and ceramic creatures and old and new projection technology, to keep the hallucinations going.

Viewable from Queen Street and on the CAMH grounds, this outdoor lightbox bursts with phantasmagoric whimsy, a nod to the chaos of how we actually process memories, the illusions and disillusions that we use to build our identity, and the unpredictable rollercoaster of  dreams. Partly inspired by snoezelen rooms*, Snoozeland offers a bright oasis on the grounds of a hospital and a respite from the approaching winter.

Don’t forget to tag your photos #Snoozeland!

The exhibition will be on view for the month of November and an animation component will be presented at the TIFF Bell Lightbox prior to screenings at Rendevous with Madness Film Festival.

Opening Reception

Tuesday, 11 November 2014
5 pm to 7 pm

Let us know you’re coming and invite others on the Facebook Snoozeland Opening Reception event page.

Artists in Collaboration

Snoozeland is a collaboration between five artists:

Claro Cosco
Marc Ngui
Sean Patenaude
Jace Traz
Magda Wojtyra

Special thanks to David Sweeney at CAMH and Leila Timmins at Workman Arts.

Part of the Rendevous with Madness Film Festival

*Snoezelen Room

The exhibition is partly inspired by the therapeutic device of the snoezelen room. Snoezelen (pron. snuzelen) is a therapy which consists of placing a person in a soothing and stimulating environment. These rooms are specially designed to deliver stimuli to various senses, using lighting effects, colour, sounds, music, scents, etc. These have both relaxing and activating effects on the different perception areas. It aims to maximize a person’s potential to focus on his own free will to improve communication and functioning. Snoezelen induces wellbeing; in a calm atmosphere anxieties are reduced and people feel secure.