Zachari Logan WQFX Commentary

The Drawers - Zachari Logan Commentary written by Julie Oakes

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Weird Queer Freaky Xmas

In previous drawings, the men were secondary to the narrative for Logan had placed them in a context that was general, perhaps historical (The World is Flat) or with a vague semblance of legend as in The Voyage. Even the men dressed in women's clothes were not seen as necessarily homo-erotic for the dresses, gowns, are identifiable with an era when cross dressing was closer to a parlour game than a sign of homosexuality.

Using history, mystery, the mundane and menace as wedges to open the doors of acceptance to the masculine gaze that turns upon itself, Zach Logan's male figures reinvent our references to masculinity. By concentrating on fine specimens of men, bodies muscled and taut, with handsome faces and a wholesome stance of advocacy towards homoeroticism, he brings forth a witty range of situations from muffled, masked love-making to lounging satyrs.

The later drawings bring the men into an arena that is unavoidably sensual and although they are not depicted having sex, the allusion is prescient and enticing. Able bodied, athletic, valenced and physically grappling, the actions edify the exchange of the male gaze. The recipient of the gaze or the object for the desire has all of the attributes of wholesome masculinity. The visually seductive figures could be compared to a proactive poster advocating gay rights. Even when the heads are draped in cloth and there is dynamite strapped to the figure, the viewer is not alienated but invited to identify. It has been the open door that Logan has used through out his work, a reasonable justification of images that are not meant to shock or alienate but to invite understanding. It becomes a plausible premise to partake in the witnessing of a sexual orientation that is still questioned, even condemned in certain factions of society.

This is a polite affirmation, a quiet gifting of interest, a sensitive hand forward. It is a message that is sent with the clear talent of a gifted draftsman and the dynamic of a confident artistic presentation.