Exhibtion, films, talks & events

David Cronenberg

The Exhibition

22 June — 14 September 2014

Highlights of this exhibition included the weird and wonderful special effects items from Cronenberg’s films, together with bizarre props, set photos and original costumes. Cronenberg has worked with famous actors such as Jeff Goldblum, Keira Knightley, Holly Hunter, Jude Law, Jeremy Irons and Robert Pattinson, whom he challenged to push the boundaries of their profession.

From 22 June through 14 September, Eye presented a major exhibition focusing on director David Cronenberg, who acquired cult status with his idiosyncratic films about the relationship between body, mind, technology and mass media. The exhibition explored Cronenberg’s world through the main themes of his films: the physical and psychological transformation of his protagonists.

Watch the exhibition trailer:

In the series of exhibitions devoted to great narrative directors such as Kubrick and Fellini, Eye presented David Cronenberg – The Exhibition. Cronenberg (Toronto, 1943) acquired a true cult status as ‘master of horror’ with the movies Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977).

With Videodrome (1983) Cronenberg became one of the first filmmakers to focus on the – devastating – influence of mass media on humanity, and he sets out his vision on the extent to which the body can be affected by technology. Videodrome, re-released by Eye in digital format in the summer of 2014, is an exploration of the dangers of reality TV and a scathing – and prophetic – critique of our contemporary media culture. His work is still very relevant in the current age of large-scale technological developments, often with unprecedented effects on the human psyche.

About the exhibition

David Cronenberg – The Exhibition explored Cronenberg’s world through the key themes of his films: the physical and psychological transformation of his characters. The highlights of the exhibition comprised important objects and attributes from Cronenberg’s films, including photos, audiovisual fragments, artwork, set design and props, such as the helmet from Videodrome (1983), the game consoles from eXistenZ (1999), the surgical instruments from Dead Ringers (1988), the leg braces from Crash (1996), the typewriters from Naked Lunch (1991) and the Telepod from The Fly (1986).

But above all, the display included unique and bizarre special effects attributes, the scientific precision and artistic quality of which make them the jewels of the exhibition. Following the presentation in Toronto, the first port of call for this touring exhibition was Amsterdam, with a completely new exhibition design by Claus Wiersma.

poster David Cronenberg – The Exhibition

Films, talks & more

The exhibition was accompanied by the screening of all eighteen feature films by Cronenberg and his short films. In three themes, the program outlined Cronenberg’s views on the influence of technology and science on the interplay between mind and body.

credits

David Cronenberg – The Exhibition, curated by TIFF’s CEO & Director Piers Handling and former Artistic Director Noah Cowan, is produced for Eye in collaboration with TIFF and came to Europe for the first time.

Director of exhibitions / Curator

Jaap Guldemond

Associate curator

Marente Bloemheuvel

Project managers

Claartje Opdam, Sanne Baar

Exhibition design

Claus Wiersma

Graphic design

Joseph Plateau

Technical production

Indyvideo

Installation

Landstra & De Vries

Looking for previous exhibitions?

Browse the archive via the link.

Support Eye. Join the Eye Society.