This is Who I Am: Politics of the Queer Body is the third annual LBGTQ2 exhibition at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre. The exhibit runs from May 30 to June 24 in the Doris Crowston Gallery. The work of two artists, Sheryl McDougald and Noel Silver, are featured. Both artists work in a large format, in oils, acrylics and ink. Both artists take the human body as a point of departure for exploring themes of identity, sexuality, and representations of the human condition.
In Sheryl McDougald’s work, musings over Renaissance figures has led to explorations of the form and composition of the human figure. McDougald said she “picked and chose art historical bodies, mixed in contemporary bodies” [and] “put them together to describe what I know to be true. Love is love.”
The juxtaposition asks the viewer to consider the history of female nudes: where the contemporary figures may seem bold in their sexuality, their muted poses echo those of their Renaissance predecessors. Rather than being the object of the male painter’s gaze, these close-cropped contemporary figures embrace their sexuality, their “otherness,” celebrating the female body in all its forms.
McDougald’s newer work in ballpoint pen and acrylics continue the examination of “queer” in classical figures.
Noel Silver’s work leans toward portraiture, with his themes overlapping with those of McDougald’s: the body as a site for complex meanings of identity and sexuality and a celebration of what is often perceived as “other.” While the figures are representational, Silver’s colourful palette and Asian influences on his life and work give his paintings an abstract and spiritual feel.
His often gender-ambiguous figures call into question gender identity and reflect a growing preoccupation in both queer and mainstream culture: what does it mean and look like to be male, to be female, and why does it matter?
Silver states: “It has been important for me to paint images that draw back the curtain of ignorance and intolerance. If we fear what we don’t understand then hopefully my images will shed some light. I ask the public to enter my world with empathy and without judgment.”
This thought-provoking exhibition will coincide with various Pride activities at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre and at other venues on the Coast. The opening reception is Sunday, June 3 from 2 to 4 p.m. and a special Meet the Artists will be held on the following Sunday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m. As of June 4 the Arts Centre will be on summer hours, Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. See www.sunshinecoastartscouncil.com.
– Submitted
