ALEX McLEOD Angell Gallery (12 Ossington, 416-530-0444) to June 1. See listing.
Digital works tend to aspire to trompe d’oeil, but McLeod’s purely digital landscapes are refreshingly unconventional in that their computer-generated artifice is clearly on display. Using architectural software, he constructs intensely detailed and glossy visual playgrounds that appear to be half-model, half-fantasy. The effect conjures a childlike world of model train sets and miniatures. In some works he uses artisanal materials, keeping one foot firmly planted in reality. In others, he creates glittering, futuristic urban landscapes that are almost ominous in their hyper-reality. Together they represent possible digital futures that are hurtling toward us faster than we realize.
