Lou Sheppard
After two years of limited operations due to the pandemic, the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery is thrilled to announce “Phase Variations,” a new, in-person installation by interdisciplinary contemporary artist Lou Sheppard.
Sheppard is a transmasculine Nova Scotian artist and rising star in the art world, with works that have been shortlisted for the prestigious Sobey Art Award.
With its keen focus on contemporary art and interest in supporting Canadian and local artists, the Art Gallery offers an opportunity for visitors to step outside of their daily lives to learn and discover something new—something the community has undoubtedly missed during COVID-19 restrictions.
“It is an honour to be the first show back in the gallery space, and I hope that students, staff, faculty and the community feel welcomed back into the space,” says Sheppard. “It is a place to shift perspectives, feel uncertain, be challenged, learn and feel differently.”
“It is a place to shift perspectives, feel uncertain, be challenged, learn and feel differently.”
“Phase Variations” aims to rediscover and celebrate queer history in Atlantic Canada, a history often overlooked, excluded and erased. Created by Sheppard and curated by Robin Metcalfe, former director and curator of the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, the project pulls from Metcalfe’s archive of queer history in Atlantic Canada. The archive of materials includes photographs, newspapers and other communications associated with the queer experience from the 1970s to the present.
“I visited Robin Metcalfe’s archives to draw out fragments, which I used as poetic points of entry into the works in the exhibition,” says Sheppard. “For example, the video piece, ‘Send Them All to Sable Island,’ is based on an offhand remark by a Halifax area mayor in the 80s in reference to people with AIDS. In the video work, I imagined Sable Island as a queer commune or hospice by overlaying fragments of queer conversations that I drew from Metcalfe’s archives. In front of the video work are ten sets of sheets, each of which have been slept on by queer friends.”
The show’s title is borrowed from the biological process whereby bacteria adapt to rapidly changing environments. It is also a nod to a musical term that refers to developing out-of-sync sounds waves resulting in a strumming effect – repeated musical passages in a slightly altered form. These terms inspired Sheppard’s interpretation of the selection of archived materials to represent the forgotten history of the queer community in a positive way.
“When you walk into the space, you don’t feel the darkness surrounding being queer in the ’70s,” says Pam Corell, Assistant Curator at the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery. “Lou does an excellent job bringing his positive outlook on life to create a celebratory aspect to such a dark period for the queer community.”
In addition to the exhibit, visitors can view some of the inspiration materials from the archive in the Reading Room. Created by Sheppard, these materials were curated by Undine Foulds, the Halifax Young Curator for the Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery.
This is the second year the gallery has hosted a Halifax Young Curator, an internship for emerging or young curators who live or explore barriers to the contemporary art sector.
“I hope people can experience a sense of queer history in the space,” says Sheppard. “We’re living in a time where queer identity is very visible and can be publicly celebrated, but that hasn’t always been the case. It is important to know who worked for the freedoms we have today.”
“Phase Variations” runs until April 17. The gallery is currently operating from noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.
The Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery was established in 1971 and was the first purpose-built university art gallery in Halifax. Built to National Gallery of Canada Standards, it focuses on contemporary art.