PATTISON Onestop Supports #WP14TO
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
PATTISON Onestop is celebrating WorldPride 2014 with a special presentation of ‘Relationship’, a series of 45-second slideshows on its subway platform screens revealing intimate snapshots depicting the arc of the real-life love story of transgender couple, Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst.
From June 16 – June 29, 2014, ‘Relationship’ will appear once every 10 minutes on the PATTISON Onestop screens across the city reaching over one million daily commuters.
Relationship is a WorldPride 2014 Major Partner Event, and is part of PATTISON’s ongoing Art in Transit programme.
Relationship is a record of the transgender couple during a period when their bodies were transitioning in opposite directions (for Drucker from male to female, and for Ernst from female to male), offering an intimate voyeuristic view into their private relationship. These photographs convey a specific time and place – the sexuality of two people in love and living in Los Angeles, who have opted for a non-operative transition into an altered gender existence on hormones.
The project, which was a highlight of the recent Whitney Biennial, has been covered by major art and news outlets from Flash Art to the New York Times. Toronto subway commuters will see an edit of Relationship that includes 40 photographs taken by Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst from 2008-2013. Collectively the photographs in Relationship become a cinematic version of the couple’s romantic and creative collaboration, simultaneously fact and fiction, revealing the pair as self-consciously and conspicuously presenting themselves.
“WorldPride is an opportunity to continue breaking down stereotypes, pushing boundaries, and expanding our capacity for acceptance and understanding,” says Sharon Switzer, National Arts Programmer and Curator for PATTISON Onestop. “It’s my hope that by presenting a Trans love story to millions of people on the subway screens, we are contributing to the ethos and energy of WorldPride 2014.”
“You can never underestimate the power of seeing yourself reflected in art and how important that is to a feeling of belonging,” says Chrystal Dean, WorldPride manager. “WorldPride 2014 Toronto will showcase a rich range of LGBTQ art and voices from across the world in a once-in-a-lifetime event. We are delighted to partner with PATTISON’s Art in Transit programme to bring this important exhibition to Toronto and citywide visibility to Trans* communities.”
Relationship is curated by Jean-Paul Kelly, Lori Newdick, and Sharon Switzer. Artwork courtesy of Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
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