LyleXOX
I. They. Mine. Yours…

I.THEY.MINE.YOURS…

It begins with the self. Personal, and intimate.  A human plinth.

Then placed upon this mortal pedestal are the objects that were deemed no longer valuable. They have been discarded, having reached their expiry date, and now seek refuge in the artists’ hands.  These newly found objects enter a world of inspiration and are seen in a new light.  Their stories now merge with mine.

The journey of transformation and exploration of value and sentimentality become a central focus. The viewer is granted access to experience stories embedded in the DNA of these objects. Shared through a dreamlike lens, these stories are now passed from this world of mine to yours.

This creative voyage of storytelling and consciously choosing how we view and interact with the ephemeral world continues from this moment on.  

They. Mine. Yours…

In the world of high fashion and glamour magazines, he’s known as Lyle XOX, but to the people of Wymark, a hamlet near Swift Current, Saskatchewan, he is Lyle Reimer. LyleXOX will not just be returning as a boy from Wymark, he will be riding a wave of cheeky fabulousness as the darling of Vogue magazine, protagonist of the 2019 art book Lyle XOX: Head of Design, social media sensation, and the subject of a CBC documentary, Random is My Favourite Colour. 

In his AGSC exhibition, LyleXOX will showcase a series of photographs, artifacts, sculptures and a projection of otherworldly creations. The prints are images of collaged layers with make up, wigs, and an eclectic assortment of recycled elements, applied to the “support” of the artist’s own head, and serve as unique artworks and as visual representations of stories that accompany each work. 

The results are fantastical and surreal characters found only in imagination, fairy tales or childhood dreams. Pleasant dreams, not nightmares. These androgynous “living sculptures” are not scary but rather they are surprisingly approachable, often with a sly sense of humour and irony.