Since We Can’t Dance Together
Since We Can’t Dance Together presents viewers with a quiet moment to contemplate concepts of intimacy, tenderness, togetherness, collective healing, and possible utopian futures. Suspended in the structure of a locked greenhouse, wax-coated ink drawings of figures and insects dance in harmony, amplified by infinite reflections in hanging mirrors above a living garden. The greenhouse presents an ironically enclosed structure. Barriers of glass, wood, and locked doors prevent viewers from entering the utopic space, creating a sensation of yearning. Inside the space, drawings of figures and insects closely interact—something that is currently impossible for us to do as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I would like to present viewers with a sculptural imagining of an optimistic future and the possibility for healing. The wax-coated drawings of the beings and bugs, as well as the living installation of plants are all representations of resilience, community, and the paths to healing. I see plants as the ultimate healers—the ultimate teachers of resiliency and perseverance. Since We Can’t Dance Together celebrates this and creates a meditative space in which we can introspectively contemplate life after the pandemic and the world we would like to rebuild.
taryn walker
Taryn Walker is a queer, Indigenous artist of Salish (Nɬeʔképmx) ancestry whose work explores concepts of identity, tenderness, healing, cycles of life and death, and the supernatural through drawing, printmaking, installation, and video. In 2018 Walker graduated from the University of Victoria with a major in Visual Arts and a minor in Art History & Visual Studies.
Most recently Walker presented work in an exhibition called The Breathing Wall at the historical E&N Roundhouse in Victoria, BC in collaboration with artist Connie Morrey and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria in August 2020. Their work has been presented in spaces and events such as Arc.Hive Artist Run Centre (2019), Luna Arts Festival (2018), Integrate Arts Festival (2018), and Bass Coast Music & Arts Festival’s 10th Anniversary (2018). Walker’s artistic research has also been granted support from the Edmonton Arts Council, the Indigenous Curatorial Collective, and the First Peoples Cultural Council.
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