Queer and Indigenous artist’s work displayed in Surrey

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Wistful, compassionate, and penetrating is what every viewer feels when they see and hear the story behind Zachery Cameron Longboy’s work. His art has a way to capture and hold you, and make you think. It’s a combination of moments, each with a story behind it. 

Longboy is a white-adopted, native gay and two-spirit video maker and performance-installation artist from Manitoba, and a Sixties Scoop survivor. His installation at the Surrey Art Gallery is called “Zachery Cameron Longboy: Guardian of Sleep.” 

His latest video art piece was inspired by a dream. 

“It’s about being HIV positive in a poetic way, in a clinical way,” Longboy says. 

Through his art, he brings a poetic way to look at situations and look back at how HIV has affected his life 30 years later. With animations and imagery that illustrates caribou as a god-like character, and a pride flag swirling in the background, Longboy’s art symbolizes the cultures that have long been neglected.  

“There’s always been a need for me to do it this way,” he says. “I pretty much see the camera as a paintbrush.”

He highlighted the importance of how his form of documentative art is different from the conventional forms of mainstream media. 

“I like to paint the video rather than take it,” Longboy says, who likes layering of images. “I’m always a little fearful when I make something that doesn’t fit, and I’m always surprised when it works out.” 

“[Being Indigenous], it’s part of me, it’s who I am. I am from Churchill, Manitoba, and I have that history — it’s important. We are the first peoples, and we’ve not always had the chance to voice that.”

The theme and idea behind his art is to dream and allow yourself to have those dreams, which are captured perfectly in the essence of his storytelling.

To Longboy, his art is a saviour that keeps him going and alive in the midst of his health problems. He says he grew up privileged to have the opportunity to make things the way he wants to. 

“It sounds quite selfish, making images the way you want to make them, but in a way it’s truthful to myself. It’s a truthful way of telling my story,” he says. 

The different voices in his art are important in his way of storytelling. Longboy’s story is magical and indispensable in the way the caribou are important to the Sayisi Dene First Nation. 

Longboy’s video-art installation will be displayed at the Surrey Art Gallery until Nov. 26.