Sackville artist Lucas Morneau, most well-known for his work as “The Queer Mummer,” is featured on the 2021 New Generation Photography Award longlist.

Scotiabank and the National Gallery of Canada present the award to lens-based artists under age 35, to hopefully elevate their developing careers.

As one of those young artists, Morneau is excited to talk about his nominated works as well as the many forms of lens-based art.

Morneau says that “the Mummer was built through experimentations in fiber art, but it was mostly done through photography.” He drew inspiration from artists such as Cindy Sherman, “who creat[ed] personas or alter egos for their photographs.”

Experimenting with photography methods is important in Morneau’s work, including developing photos using instant coffee, Vitamin C tablets, and iodized salt.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been developing them in his own home.

“I have a developing tank right next to me at the moment filled with super saturated salt. That helps to fix the film from developing even further or fading through time. I am testing to see if it’s archival, so I actually have a slide of black and white film just attached to my window permanently. I check it every day to see how the image is doing," he says.

Morneau has a pandemic project on the go that involves photography, titled the “QNHL,” or the “Queer Newfoundland Hockey League.”

“It takes Newfoundland towns and pejoratives used against people in the LGBT community, especially on the ice and in the locker rooms, and reclaims them as the team names," he says.

Morneau is looking into switching lenses, and has a grant in for a video project featuring his alter ego, “The Queer Mummer.”

Hear this story as reported by CHMA: