Kevin Cooke and Steven Dunning
Flaming Senses
October 10–November 8, 1997

In Flaming Senses, Kevin Cook and Steven Dunning each employ seemingly divergent modes of expression (one serious in intent and articulation, the other equally serious, yet rooted in the camp sensibility of the gay subculture) to communicate multi-leveled meanings.

Dunning’s large scale, highly coloured paintings make provocative use of photographs and advertisements originally intended to promote the ideals of 1940s and 1950s mainstream America. By presenting his selected images in multi-layered, ironic juxtaposition, Dunning subverts the photographs’ original meanings to address both social conditions of the gay subculture and the “everyday plight of the individual expected to conform to social norms and mores.” In his video works, Cook similarly employs “elements of daily life” in stark juxtaposition: electronically processed images of leather types, fast food junkies and urban architecture combine to produce experimental narratives that challenge the conventions of conventional (commercial, mainstream) broadcast media. Although both artists make heavy use of humour and irony in their approach, it is this very point of access which raises serious questions about homophobia on the North American landscape.