Art on Wheels: Photo Exhibition on Sexuality and Disability

by Jordan Yerman | March 23, 2007 at 01:25 pm

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This art exhibition explores the sexuality of thsoe living with disabilities. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, and I will be sure to check it out.

“So can you have sex?” is one of the questions Kyla Harris is frequently asked when she meets a stranger.

“That’s what two out of 10 people ask me right away — and the other eight are probably thinking it,” said the Victoria-born woman, who broke her neck in a diving accident seven years ago.

“It’s appalling, hurtful, and intrusive, but I try to muster my patience because if they can learn something from me, then hopefully they’ll not be as ignorant and curious next time. I explain that just because I am in a wheelchair doesn’t mean I am no longer a sexual being. Yes, I can have sex.”

In fact, sex — and Harris — are the subjects of a new exhibition that opens a new gallery in Vancouver today [Mar 23, 2007].

Harris, 22, strikes a number of sensuous and provocative poses, both in and out of her wheelchair, in the show Access-sex, which she created with photographer Sarah Murray. The exhibition is the first at the Main Artery Gallery, founded by Harris and one of her caregivers, Kathleen Symons.

Sarah Murray did my headshots, and adeptly captured my inner life; she's a stellar photographer and a really neat person. I look forward to seeing this new facet of her work.