Whistler, BC - January 4, 2010 - GayWhistler, the producers of the annual WinterPRIDE festival, has just secured a handsome bronze sculpture, Slapshotolus, from Edmund Haakonson through funding by the Canadian Council of Arts and Alberta Foundation for the Arts to be showcased at the first ever PRIDE House during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  "We are so honored to be able to have such a beautiful and moving piece of art to be one of our centre pieces at the 2010 Pride House," says Dean Nelson, CEO of GayWhistler. "The inspiration and story behind Slapshotolus is perfectly aligned with the values and objectives of the Pride House."

The inspiration for this work is the universal philosophical ideal of living one's life true and honest unto one's self, with a noble and pure character of spirit, an element of innocence.  Across the world in most cultures this ideal is held up as something to aspire to.  Slapshotolus is a visual symbol of purity of spirit, of living life unshielded, unarmored.  It is a symbolic expression of the concept that one who lives a life of noble ideals does not require protection, does not need to cover because there is nothing to hide.  Haakonson has taken a Classical Greek image that is an expression of this ideal and given it a twenty-first century make over, a modern face.  It is a connecting of the ideals of the ancient sacred games and the ideals of the modern Winter Games.  In the process of the production of this work Haakonson discovered a strong resemblance between the pose of a hockey player drawn back to take a slap shot and the pose of the ancient Greek sculpture the Discus Thrower which increases the connection between ancient and modern.  Haakonson explains, "There is also an element honouring the Canadian sense of humour as expressed in popular television with shows like This Hour Has Twenty Two Minutes, Royal Canadian Air Farce and Rent a Goalie.  The image of ancient nude sculpture makes perfect sense to us, the image of a hockey player makes perfect sense, the hybrid of the two has a decidedly amusing result.  There is an element of the absurd in a hockey player wearing only skates, gloves and helmet, especially for anyone who has actually played hockey.  There is however, no conflict in the absolutely serious and the humourous co-existing in a single work, I would suggest that it reflects the true reality of life."  The artist continues, "I would like to applaud GayWhistler for their foresight in creating a venue, Pride House, to be part of the Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games.  I believe that this sculpture would be extraordinarily appropriate for that venue."

PRIDE House will be open from February 8th through to March 21st and will take in three incredible events:  The Olympics (Feb. 12-28), WinterPRIDE in Whistler (Mar. 1-8), and the Paralympics (Mar. 12-21).  http://www.pridehouse.ca

Situated at Qmunity- BC's Queer Resource Centre at 1170 Bute Street, will be the operational hub for Pride House 2010 where LGTB resources and information on immigration, social services and workshops will be available.  Open Feb. 1st - Mar. 21st 10AM-7PM daily

PRIDE House Vancouver - Celebration Venue
Situated in the heart of Davie Street within the Gay Village - Score on Davie (1262 Davie Street) is the primary celebration Venue for Pride House Vancouver.  Free Wi-Fi, huge HDTVs to watch the Olympics, special exhibition of Jeff Sheng's "Fearless" photo exhibit showcasing Out Athletes. Open Feb. 1st - Mar. 21st 10AM-2AM daily

Dean Nelson

CEO - Community & Media Relations

T: +1.604.288.7218

E: dean@gaywhistler.com