Spotted with Pansies

Spotted with Pansies explores how landscape can be weaponized to enact harm against marginalized communities. A pansy is both a flower and a derogatory term for a feminine gay man, making it simultaneously beautiful and inflammatory. The title of the series refers to a time in the artist’s life when, before coming out, he feared being seen with other homosexual men: afraid that this association would expose him as “one of them.” These works pervert ornamental tradition, embracing fashion and Internet culture as Queer muses. Overwhelming the architectural surface with spots underscores how Queerness is often rendered decorative and claustrophobic, ostentatious to the point of suffocation.

This project was supported by the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

Select works on loan from de Montigny Contemporary.