The installation by Ryan Danny Owen explores queerness, nostalgia and loss
A new exhibition by Calgary-based visual artist Ryan Danny Owen opens tonight at Struts Gallery in Sackville. Owen describes themself as a non-binary (he/they/she) artist, historian and writer.
Hear the story below:
They’re in Sackville for the opening, marking their first time in Atlantic Canada.
“I’ve never been to anywhere around here, so it’s kind of exciting to see Sackville. It’s a really picturesque small town. I really enjoy the streets. People are also very friendly.”
The exhibition is also Owen’s first solo show outside of their home city.
“This is my first solo exhibition outside of Calgary, so it’s a big leap to come all the way to Sackville from there.”
A follow-up show called Dirty Picture II
Owen’s exhibition is titled Dirty Picture II. They described it as a follow-up to an earlier show.
“My show is called Dirty Picture II. It’s the follow-up exhibition to my first exhibition called Dirty Picture I,” they said.
The project explores queerness, memory and the risks of romanticizing the past.
“It’s this way of examining queer nostalgia and looking at the falseness and complexities of romanticizing that period of time, as well as making something that is an intimate space for people to enter into.”
Working with archives and “compositions of removal”
Much of Owen’s recent work comes from a long-running conceptual approach that began with found materials.
“I started doing a series called Rubbings, where I took found gay porn magazines that had been given to me.”
The work became a way to think about history and loss.
“It was all about looking at history as something that’s fading or passing us,” they said.
That approach later expanded into installation pieces designed to exist for a limited time.
“Those installation pieces were temporal spaces that would only exist for the three-month period, and then they would be gone.”
Censorship and the challenge of showing the work
Owen has faced challenges showing work with queer themes, particularly in Alberta.
“Obviously challenges, of course,” they said. “I’ve faced a lot of censorship, a lot of removal of my work. I’ve really struggled to show my work in a lot of places.”
That, Owen said, is part of why it is important for smaller communities to host exhibitions like this.
“It’s important to get to see shows like this happening, small communities getting to see work like this is really exciting, really challenging and really different.”
What they hope people take from the exhibit
Owen hopes visitors reflect on their own relationship to identity and memory.
“I hope that when people come into this space, they consider their own connection to queerness and their own connection to nostalgia and identity,” they said.
They also referenced the ongoing weight of queer history.
“Looking at, as a queer individual, the AIDS crisis,” they said, “and what it is to live in these spaces that feel temporal.”
Visiting the exhibition and artist talk
Owen said they will be in Sackville for a limited time.
“Well, I’m only here until Saturday, so if you wanna meet me, you gotta come to my opening tomorrow and Friday.”
They also noted there will be a giveaway connected to the installation.
“We’ll be giving away a piece of the hotel.”
Struts Gallery is hosting a talk and presentation related to the exhibition from 5 to 7 pm.
The exhibition opens Friday, January 23 at Struts Gallery in Sackville and runs until April 15.
Clinton Davis is a community journalist and audio producer covering the people, events, and ideas shaping the Tantramar region.
