February 2010
ZACHARI LOGAN
The Lazarus Series
February 5-28, 2010
One Month Exhibit
Vernissage Friday February 5, 2010 / 7 – 10pm
Come meet Zachari Logan, who will be in from Saskatoon for opening night!
Zachari has recently had solo exhibits at Envoy Enterprises in New York:
http://
with Galerie Jeanroch Dard in Paris:
http://
at Headbones Gallery in Toronto:
http://
and is scheduled to show later this year in Barcelona @ Arte Vistas Galeria de Arte Nueva Generacion:
http://www.artevistas.com/
We are privileged to have him join us @ La Petite Mort Gallery.
The Lazarus Series
The drawing that initially instigated this series, titled Le Petit Mort, was a piece I did of two male figures with their heads veiled by cloth, embracing with what appeared to be fetishist objects strapped to their sides… an erotic image of possible suicide bombers in an instance of intimacy. This drawing was for me a metaphor for the frailties of human sexuality, and the dangers of touch. The bodies, dissolving into the white of the paper, both symbolize annihilation- the very tangible obliteration of bodies through explosion and the release of ejaculation (relating directly to the title which, in French means “the little death” a slang for ejaculation). From this piece came The Lazarus Series This work having its main reference taken from the Biblical narrative The Raising of Lazarus. A story of interest to me because of its allusions to the homoerotic and imagery related to sexuality and male-male intimacy. The figures in these works, whose identities have been removed by the covering of their faces, rather than their bodies, evoke a similar narrative of human frailty. Unlike the drawing Le Petit Mort, in the Lazarus drawings the bodies never embrace, there is touch and sometimes only the inference thereof. So the work becomes about distance and relational dynamics. In the story of The Raising of Lazarus (in which the title character never speaks) Jesus raises Lazarus from being formerly four days dead, this “Little Death” becomes a life saver, a necromancer’s wet dream…
Statement:
My work explores and critiques constructions of masculinity, queerness and marginalization in the contemporary world. In both my graphic work and my painting, I confront the notion that masculinity is homogenous and question heteronormative sexuality as the origin by which all other male sexual realities are judged. Recently my painting has become more literally autobiographical, in the sense that I am exploring my own image as subject matter. While I am still analyzing constructions of masculinity through the exploration of archetypal male identities, I am performing a sort of drag by impersonating these identities using a semblance of my own image and costuming.
The staged backdrops, which contain these performances both minimalistic and bordering on tableau, further reference the constructed nature of sexuality and identity. While my drawings continue the same types of exploration into masculinity with the use of constructed images and elaborate backdrops, they are more allegorical in nature. Visually, I am interested in Neo-Classical and Baroque spatial realms. In my work I mimic these styles referencing art-historical masculine portrayals, such as: male bravado, narcissism and heroism. I then undermine these very constructions by returning the instinctually heterosexist gaze with a self-anxious queer narrative. – Zachari Logan
Tunes by DJ NICK
Proudly sponsored by CKCU 93.1 FM
** Canapes provided by KINKI:
KINKI is sushi inspired creations & so much more. Get KINKI
www.kinki.ca
** Canapes provided by MAMBO:
MAMBO is fresh and exotic with Explosions of New Latin Inspired flavours. www.mambonuevolatino.com
Merci.
Guy Berube, Director
La Petite Mort Gallery