ManWoman: Holy Screen Time

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ManWoman, "Holy Screen Time," 2020

ManWoman: Holy Screen Time!

October 17 – November 28, 2020

Opening Reception - Saturday, October 17 2020 at 12-5 P.M.- Covid Rules

The line between Art and Life for ManWoman (February 2, 1938 – November 13, 2012) was thin, brilliantly colored and drawn with expertise. He embraced his calling as an artist, an activist, a writer and - it must be said - as a performer. He was known to dress in yellow, drove a yellow van and a yellow Cadillac convertible, championing the good and eschewing misrepresentation. He had a third eye tattooed on his forehead and his body covered in over 200 renditions of the swastika, reclaimed from indigenous and religious cultures. He worked at banishing the stigma that the symbol had acquired since The Holocaust while maintaining to advocate against all the evil that image had born under Hitler. Needless to say, he got into trouble for his views but throughout his career, he managed to impart an extreme positivity.

This is not the first time Manwoman’s work has been in Vernon. He had a show at the first Headbones Gallery in the 90’s when he delivered his large pop paintings in his yellow van. He returned for the first Headbones Fashion Show where his yellow suit with flying hearts was modelled. His works have been in the Headbones Drawers and shown in our exhibitions both here and in Toronto. This is the first time that such a quantity of his silk screen prints have been shown together and is the most comprehensive as some editions have been sold out and are no longer available.

The exhibition, consisting of sixty-six silk screened editions and three paintings, bears testimony to an artist whose skill was exemplary. The clarity and depth of color is profound, his registration meticulous, and his imagery articulate and often humorous. ManWoman died at 74 in his home-town of Cranbrook, surrounded by his works and artifacts and leaving behind children and grandchildren. Loved by many, respected and befriended by even more his work was fueled by visions, inspired by religions, as creative as the hours of the day allowed – his work speaks for him now.

Flyfoot Press published three books by ManWoman that will also be available at Headbones Gallery – Homesick for Eternity: ManWoman Autobiography, Gentle Swastika: Reclaiming the Innocence, and Midnight Freak Show: Poetry, Art and Dangerous Mysticism.

During the run of the exhibition, October 17 to November 28, the gallery is open by appointment, 12 – 5 PM Tuesday through Saturday by calling 250-542-8987.The opening reception will be held outdoors and with ten people, masked, allowed in the gallery at a time on Saturday October 17 between noon and five. ManWoman’s widow, Estarte, will be in attendance.