Toni Latour

Artist's Statement

"Working in a variety of disciplines, the content of my practice focuses on my identification as an artist and my relationship to various communities. Several projects have incorporated factions of Vancouver's queer community, of which I am a part, in an effort to increase visibility. Other projects have been born from my participation in Canadian art communities, making reference to other artists and my position within the contemporary art landscape.

Using humour as a strategy, much of my work deals with the drives, desires and anxieties bound up in my own art production. Often depicting the carnivalesque quality of the artist/performer, my work seeks to be both deprecatingly funny and poignantly honest. It describes the self and social scrutiny that go hand in hand with keeping up in the fast paced worlds of art. It also depicts many of the coping mechanisms that accompany such scrutiny. Subjects include staying motivated, maintaining appearances and honing survival skills. From pep talks to public posturing, my practice encompasses both the excitement and apprehension that surround contemporary art making today."

Bio

Toni Latour is a multidisciplinary artist based in Vancouver, Canada. She works in video, sound, photography, installation and performance art. She received her BFA from the University of Windsor in 1998 and her MFA from the University of Western Ontario in 2000. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally since 1994 and has been awarded numerous grants and awards in support of her practice. Her work is held in both public and private collections, including the Portrait Gallery of Canada and the Surrey Art Gallery. Latour teaches Media Art at Capilano University in British Columbia.

2008 Announcement

Toni Latour’s The Drag King Project has been acquired by the
Portrait Gallery of Canada.

Latour has also been awarded a $20, 000 Canada Council grant to continue her work with Vancouver’s queer community.

Acquisition

The Portrait Gallery of Canada (PGC), part of Library and Archives Canada (LAC), has just acquired Toni Latour’s multi-disciplinary work The Drag King Project (2005). The project is the result of Latour’s work with two Vancouver drag king troupes, DK United and $3 Bill. It is comprised of 26 transmounted photographs, a 40-minute video of drag performances and wall–mounted vinyl text derived from audio interviews with the participating drag kings.

The National Portrait Collection, held by LAC, was developed with the goal of documenting historical personalities important to Canada's development. In addition to the historical collection, the PGC also collects contemporary works that explore today's issues. Part history museum, part art gallery, the Portrait Gallery's active program of traveling exhibitions, educational initiatives and community partnerships brings a unique collection of more than four million photographs, paintings, prints, drawings, caricatures, sculptures and films to all Canadians.

Within the past decade, despite minimal exposure and awareness from popular media, drag kings have exploded on queer scenes. In Vancouver’s thriving queer community, DK United and $3 Bill explore constructs and embodiments of masculinity from a variety of perspectives. They provide us with a better understanding of the performativity and fluidity of gender and sexual identities. They also demonstrate that masculinity is not something belonging only to biological males. Their membership crosses age, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, gender and experience. Through this collaborative effort, Latour and her participants give voice and recognition to queer culture in Canada.

The Drag King Project has seen great successes leading up to this acquisition. In addition to considerable press and publication, it was exhibited in three Vancouver galleries and was included in the International Drag King Extravaganza and Academic Conference, hosted by Vancouver in 2007. It went on to exhibition in Edmonton, and three of the photographs were purchased by The Surrey Art Gallery for their permanent collection. Toni Latour was nominated 2007 Artist of the Year by Xtra West readers as a result of the project.

Future

Through a new $20, 000 grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Latour will soon begin a new project that continues her examination of queer communities in Vancouver; looking specifically at femme identity, representation and politics.

Latour says: “Vancouver’s queer community is vast and changing. There is a sense of strength and accomplishment marking the new millennium as we begin to document our lives. Taking my cue from the Vancouver Queer Film Festival’s newly launched program The Queer History Project, I intend for this (new) body of work to contribute to ever expanding queer Canadian representations, allowing “our stories to take their rightful place in Canadian History”.”

“Human beings, as a rule, are pack animals. We seek the comfort and safety found in the company of commonality, the relief at being recognized for who and what we are.” - Ivan E. Coyote

Natasha Barsotti of Xtra West interviewed Latour on the acquisition and her upcoming work.

To view, click below.
http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=4&STORY_ID=4717&PUB_TE...

Toni Latour would like to thank both the Canada Council for the Arts and the British Columbia Arts Council for their support of The Drag King Project; and the Canada Council for the Arts for their support of her upcoming work.