August - October 2022
The untold story of love in the West. Cowfolk explores the parallels between the heteronormative-colonial imaginary and the clique of the Lone Ranger when looking back at the American West. Cowfolk uncovers the hidden identities and narratives with imagery of lovers and riders, some of which were intentionally curated and staged by the artist and then painted in the well-known romantic genre.
Featured Artist
Emily Jayne May Myatt (they/them) is a non-binary contemporary visual artist currently based in Kelowna, BC on unceded Syilx territory. Their current body of work combines issues surrounding gender, art history and the painted image with an interest in the social construction of gender and how it has evolved over time.
Their research involves subverting European colonial narratives to expose the harmful effects that binary systems force upon us. They do this by embracing a full spectrum of visual sources; from neoclassical sculpture, to queer art history, their own staged photographs, three-dimensional maquettes, and digital archives. The space between this research and more painterly concerns in the studio provide fertile ground to construct imagery that mimics the complexity of identity.
They are projected to complete their Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus in the summer of 2023; majoring in visual arts and minoring in art history and visual culture. Recent solo exhibitions include Cowfolk at the Art Council of the Central Okanagan Community Gallery (2022) and Awkward at the Rotary Centre for the Arts Galleria (2020). Recent group exhibitions include Emergence at the Vernon Public Art Gallery (2023), Forty Feet Forward at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus (2023), and Recent Work at Kettle River Brewery (2020).