SLIDESHOW: A preview tour of the new David Cronenberg Exhibit at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
For over three decades, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg has disturbed and delighted audiences with his uncanny knack for exploring (and exploiting) our most unsettling fears. Starting November 1, Torontonians can take a terrifying peek inside the mind that gave us The Fly, Dead Ringers and Videodrome. Cronenberg: Evolution, the TIFF Bell Lightbox’s first large-scale touring exhibit, tracks Cronenberg’s development from his initial big-budget flick, 1981 science-fiction film Scanners, to last year’s Don DeLillo adaptation, Cosmopolis. Divided chronologically into three sections, the exhibition includes over 60 props, costumes and artifacts (many of them salvaged from Cronenberg’s house and garage), including the hive-like telepod from The Fly and the six-foot-tall humanoid Mugwump from Naked Lunch . The exhibit is one of TIFF’s biggest, most ambitious and certainly most grotesque. Here, 15 photos from the delightfully chilling retrospective.
243915 Cronenberg: Evolution opens on November 1, 2013 (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A001-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A001.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A001.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a001/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a001 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243916 The exhibition is divided into three sections, which chronologically track Cronenberg’s development as a filmmaker (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A002-e1383238684426-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A002.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A002.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a002/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a002 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243918 The costumes worn by Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender in Cronenberg’s 2011 period piece, <em>A Dangerous Method</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A004-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A004.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A004.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a004/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a004 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243919 Special effects casts by Stephan Dupuis for 2012 drama <em>Cosmopolis</em> starring Robert Pattinson (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A005-e1383238701504-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A005.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A005.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a005/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a005 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243920 The terrifying television from 1983 cult classic, <em>Videodrome</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A006-e1383238720772-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A006.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A006.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a006/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a006 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243921 (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A007-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A007.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A007.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a007/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a007 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243922 The telepod from 1986’s <em>The Fly,</em> starring Jeff Goldblum as the scientist who mutates into a winged insect (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A008-e1383238743618-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A008.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-A008.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a008/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-a008 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243923 Along with props, the exhibit also includes photos and other memorabilia (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B001-e1383238762484-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B001.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B001.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b001/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b001 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243924 One of the creepiest artifacts in the exhibit: a six-foot-tall Mugwump, the humanoid creature from Cronenberg’s 1991 adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel, <em>Naked Lunch</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B002-e1383238780510-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B002.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B002.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b002/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b002 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243925 (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B003-e1383238796719-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B003.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B003.jpg 667 1000 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b003/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b003 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243926 The typewriter beetle from <em>Naked Lunch</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B004-e1383238812408-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B004.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B004.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b004/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b004 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243927 The exhibit includes rare and unseen video clips from Cronenberg’s extensive oeuvre (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B005-e1383238832587-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B005.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B005.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b005/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b005 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243929 The tattoo kit from 2007 British crime flick <em>Eastern Promises</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B007-e1383238866507-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B007.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B007.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b007/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b007 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243930 The elaborate silk costume worn by John Lone in 1993 drama <em>M. Butterfly</em> (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B008-e1383238882583-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B008.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-B008.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b008/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-b008 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
243931 Filmmaker David Cronenberg at the exhibit’s media preview (Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF) Cronenberg: Evolution https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-C001-e1383238899306-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-C001.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-C001.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-bell-lightbox/slide/david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-c001/ david-cronenberg-exhibit-tiff-toronto-c001 0 0
(Image: Geoff Gunn/Courtesy of TIFF)
Cronenberg: Evolution, November 1-January 19, TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W., 416-599-8433, tiff.net/cronenberg