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Zachari Logan has been making art for as long as he could hold a pencil.
In his Regina studio, where Elton John frequents a record player given to him by his late aunt, the true music to his ears is the sound of the canvas.
Logan’s artwork has taken him around the globe, with his newest installation taking him to Venice, Italy.
A commissioned ceramic piece of his was supposed to be part of an art exhibit in Washington D.C., called Nature’s Wild with Andil Gosine at the Museum of the Americas, but the exhibition was abruptly cancelled one month before it opened.
“It was an absolute shock to everyone involved that it would be cancelled so close to its opening date,” Logan said. “It’s sort of unheard of because museums plan years in advance. This project was very, very long in the making.”
The theme of the exhibit was centred around queer sexuality and love.
Logan called the cancellation a preemptive move by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made major cuts to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) programs after signing an executive order on his first day in office.
“There’s an absolute link or connection to this executive order and the exhibition being cancelled,” Logan said.
Logan calls his collection of art materials “organized chaos.” (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
Logan said it appeared museum staff were fearful for their jobs if they went through with the exhibit.
“It really is one of those bellwether moments for things to come, especially Stateside,” he said. “It’s very unfortunate.”
As a queer person, Logan said Trump is directly attacking queer people and other marginalized groups.
“I think what’s going on in the States at large is reverberating around the globe. It is affecting everyone,” he said. “You can’t help but be affected by that.”
Logan said events impact not only himself but other queer artists who frequent the U.S. for art exhibits.
He plans to avoid travel to the U.S. for the time being, even for work purposes.
A lot of Logan’s pieces use floral work in relation to themes of queerness and embodiment. The middle image is a self portrait. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
Museums and art galleries were once a safe space for Logan, but now he’s not so sure.
“We have to wait and see what happens next,” he said. “An article I read outlined Trump’s complete cancellation of funding for museums and libraries Stateside. It just seems to be moving at such an alarming rate.”
He said the loss of these spaces for queer people and other marginalized groups is worrisome and important connections will be lost.
“Those stories won’t be heard, they won’t be seen by the people it was intended for,” he said.
“But that’s what Trump wants, that’s what his cohort wants. It’s really unfortunate, and I certainly feel a little less safe in that regard.”
“It is so surreal that something that is the result of an election in another country has such a deep effect on myself and other Canadians,” Logan said. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
But with any community comes resilience, Logan said, and many museums have stepped up to showcase his work and that of other artists from the Nature’s Wild exhibit.
“… museums and communities are banding together and saying, ‘No, this isn’t right. We need to have this work exhibited. We need to have this conversation.’ So it’s very heartening,” Logan said.
When asked if what’s going on in the world inspires Logan to create more art, without missing a beat, he quickly said yes.
“It is definitely catapulting me to create even more and think about the moment and how best to respond to it,” he said.
Logan’s Regina studio, located in the Warehouse District, is covered with countless pieces of art that inspire him. Logan said he typically spends eight to 10 hours a day creating art. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
Logan has a handful of exhibits coming up, like a major project in Venice that opens in September, a project in the fall in northern Canada with Inuit print makers and another large exhibit in November at Paul Petro Contemporary Art in Toronto.
His second book of poetry, called Green, is also set to come out in May.
Logan describes his artistic medium as multi-disciplinary. The backbone of his practice is drawing, but he also does a lot of ceramic sculpture work and installation practices.
He works with actual plant life and has recently been drawing on clothes.
A close up of a t-shirt Logan drew on with blue ink. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)
