Daryl Vocat: The Secret of the Midnight Shadow

Additional Information

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 18 at 1:00 pm

The forest is a liminal space, undergoing a transformation each evening. Tranquil during the day, at night it is shadowy, mysterious, sometimes frightening. It is this forest, the site of "horror films, black magic and mythology" DV that Vocat has created, and populated, in The Secret of the Midnight Shadow. Vocat's forest is inhabited with figures that are also in a liminal state: they are illustrations lifted from Boy Scout manuals, manipulated, enlarged and redrawn life size. Liberated from the safe narratives of the instructive texts they spring from, they are thrown into a space of ambiguity. It's a dark place, but also an exciting one, where a world of possibility emerges - figures shapeshift as new identities are tried on, allegiances and fierce friendships are formed, and the anarchic spirit thrives, protected by the darkness of the night.

Originally from Regina, Daryl Vocat lives and works in Toronto. He has a BFA from the University of Regina (1999) and an MFA from York University (2001). Vocat has exhibited extensively throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. His works are in the numerous public collections including The New York Public Library, The National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives, the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York, The Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery in Vancouver, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, and the City of Toronto. Vocat is represented by KWT contemporary in Toronto.

Daryl Vocat, The Secret of the Midnight Shadow (Installation View), 2012.