Interview with Lee Richard: Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works 

Gallery Blog

Over the next few months, we’re in conversation with artists, curators, and others regarding our current exhibitions at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. 

This week, we chat with Lee Richard, a lithographer and relief print maker in his final year at NSCAD, about his own experience researching, reflecting and connecting to the exhibition Erica Rutherford: Her Lives and Works. The exhibition is at the CCAG until January 5^th, 2025.  

In what ways does this exhibit of Erica’s lives and works contribute to the representation and visibility of PEI’s trans community?  

LR: Erica’s collection of work displays the multitudes of lives she led, from beginning to end. This retrospective presents those artistic accomplishments, from her varied early works to the later prints and paintings that transcribed her experiences as a trans woman. Erica’s work has become increasingly popular, as the mural painted of We Can’t All Be Perfect on the Charlottetown Old Triangle, the current and future showings of the retrospective, and her inclusion in this year’s Venice Biennale demonstrate. Hopefully, now, more artists—especially more young queer artists—will have the opportunity to engage with her work and be inspired to transcribe their own queer experiences. Queer people make up a fraction of the population. As PEI is already small, the queer community is perceived as even smaller. There’s an idea that the number of queer people has grown in recent history. I believe that sharing the storied life and work of a woman who was openly trans in the 70s helps show that PEI’s queer community has been here all along. 

It can be said that Erica was a trailblazer in the artistic and trans community. In what ways do you think this exhibition will inspire a new generation to re-discover her works?  

LR: The answer to the first question seems to be a good lead into this one, so I will leave this. 

What was it like to be so personally involved in the research into the Erica Rutherford show? And is there anything in particular that you discovered in your research that has had an influence on you personally or creatively?  

LR: Working with Pan on this project sparked an incredible interest in both Island and queer artists. The trips to the PEI archives, meetings with the Rutherfords, cataloguing each piece of work kept in that little shed attic, and every other task was very satisfying personally. I feel I grew a lot in my ability to conduct this kind of research, which has continuously proved to be an asset personally, academically, and professionally. Working so closely with Erica’s work gave me a sense of comfort and confidence in expressing my queerness through my work. When working through my ideas, I often think about Erica’s prints and paintings. 

I was interested in printmaking at the time of this project, but I was unaware of just how personally and creatively consumed I would be by the practice. I wonder if Erica felt this way when she began working primarily in print. My infatuation with printmaking began spending hours handling, photographing, measuring, and accessioning every print of hers we had access to. I learned how to identify the methods used to create the images I saw. Now, having extensively studied printmaking, I’d love to reanalyze those portfolios. 

Lee Richards

Lee Richard is a lithographer and relief printmaker in the final year of his BFA at NSCAD University. Now based in Kjipuktuk, Sikepne’katik (Halifax, NS), Lee’s upbringing in Epekwitk (PEI) permeates his work, inspiring prints rooted in ecological structures. In 2021 and 2022, Lee was a curatorial intern at the Confederation Centre, researching Island artists. Lee hopes to continue his studio practice, incorporating research and further developing his craft.