Co.Lab Gallery presents

BOY ROLAND

…& I HOPE THAT YOU FIND HAPPINESS

OPENING FRIDAY DEC 6TH, 2024 7-10 PM.

EXHIBITION CLOSES DECEMBER 24TH, 2024

rt is something boy Roland knew he wanted to always do. But sometimes faces the tension between doing your “hobby” as a job and for joy. Which in turn, his upcoming art installation …And I Hope That You Find Happiness at Co.Lab Art Gallery will seek to confront. 

 “Like my last solo show, Don’t Forget to Die, this show has a component of trying to bring together this traditional art schooling with how I work digitally. I love both, so finding a way to kind of bring those things together feels a bit like a continuation of that process.”

A big feature for this show will highlight Roland’s mix between two passions he became interested in while studying Visual Arts at Lakehead University: tattooing and wood working. Roland first draws on his iPad and then has it laser cut and engraved into wood. Some pieces, however, will have layers to have certain parts pop out from the image. Roland will also use different methods such as paint, wood stains, and different materials that may not be intended for “painting.” 

 “I have a lot of preciousness and perfectionism in what I do, which, of course, with tattooing, is important. But the process of creating the art before it becomes a tattoo is something I'm doing here: trying to loosen up, be a little less precious and perfectionist, and let it more free flow and not go back and agonize over every tiny little detail.” 

While art is freeing and liberating, the need to always get it “right” or “perfect” can be straining. Roland’s exhibit will challenge that by being okay with letting things be what they are himself and not for others. 

“[The exhibit] is connected to a lot of things I'm feeling with myself. Just letting it be okay, that it is the way that it is and that's where you'll find happiness. Letting go of all that.” 

-*Excerpts from The Walleye Arts & Culture Magazine, December, 2024.