Shannon Novak: Sub Rosa

Shannon Novak’s Sub Rosa turns our attention to the secrecy and isolation of gay intimacy. Sub Rosa expands beyond the Open Window and Novak’s personal experience into the Gallery’s hallway and bathrooms to reflect upon the experiences of gay men in New Plymouth, both historical and present day.

Shannon Novak’s (b. 1979, New Plymouth) Sub Rosa (under the rose) occupies various spaces at the Govett-Brewster, challenging the idea of openness and safety within one’s own community. Each intervention is a progression through time, starting with the Open Window space on the gallery’s Queen Street front, and moving through a series of portraits in the Len Lye Centre hallway, and toilet signage.

The artist blurs the boundaries between public and private through references to New Plymouth cruising sites from the 1990s, specifically public toilets which is where the artist had his first experience of homosexual intimacy. His personal reflections are bolstered by interviews included with the portrait series both onsite and online. The artist is concerned that little has changed in New Plymouth where acceptance of the LGBTQI+ community is low.