In Ryan Pfluger’s first solo exhibition, four related series deal with the representation of self, body, loss, transition and personal identity. As if an esthetic filter has been positioned between the artist and the world, personal life stories serve as the catalyst for producing a bo... Read more
In Ryan Pfluger’s first solo exhibition, four related series deal with the representation of self, body, loss, transition and personal identity. As if an esthetic filter has been positioned between the artist and the world, personal life stories serve as the catalyst for producing a body of work that is constantly searching for security by documenting friends, lovers and acquaintances. Combining emotional honesty with a conceptualized way of working, the artist conveys a sense of mystery, which gives the feeling that something has happened or is about to happen, while in actuality they are fabrications of idealized relationships, of events, emotions and memories.
Through the Not Without My Father series, Pfluger facilitates the dialogue between himself and his father by creating and re-creating memories from his relatively fatherless childhood. Ryan’s father is a participant in the construction of the coveted father-son bond, one that is based in both reality and fiction as well as in making up for lost time. Dealing with the personal relationship with his father as well as fatherhood in general, the series incorporates portraits, interiors and objects, photographed as if they are portraits themselves, representing emotions and pieces of our lives left behind.
About a Boy began as a complementary piece to the Not Without My Father series, rooted in the knowledge that teenagers feel uncomfortable in their own skin. The work focuses on growing up as a gay teenager in suburbia. While young boys are programmed with ideals and activities they must strive for, the artist explores and re-evaluates this as an adult through self-portraiture. Although the artist’s sexuality is an undertone throughout many of his pieces, the work speaks more broadly to the quirks of boyhood and the role of self-portraiture as a recreation device. It is also a self-portrait that started off The Men I’ve Met series. Photographed over the past two years and featuring men in various states of undress, each photograph is a fragment of a relationship that may or may not have existed. The intimacy between the artist and his subjects blurs, whether they are friends, lovers or strangers. This is an issue which is further explored in Man In The Mirror. Showing that alienation is the hidden truth behind the mask of enthusiasm, the project investigates how the digital camera along with the internet have radically changed the way people present themselves today. There was a time when snapshots used to be the hallmark of special occasions to be kept in family albums, now, every day has become an occasion for a photograph. Images of thousands of men photographing themselves shirtless in front of mirrors have been pulled off of the internet for this project. Often the men’s faces are hidden by the camera’s blinding flash, their bodies being the only thing showcased. By compiling these photographs , the artist not only seeks to question what the reality of this virtual existence consists of, but also what is deemed attractive to these men’s viewers. Evaluating his own role within this current form of male sub-culture, the artist is included within this grid of photographs, further emphasizing the core of his work: through contact with others you become aware of yourself.
