The Servant

John Luna

September 10 to October 9, 2021

The Servant presents a body of work developed from writing produced by the artist’s father recounting his experiences as a field medic in the Korean War. Items of his clothing as well as other found garments have been used to produce the corpus of supports for painting. The title refers to the Latin root of the rank of sergeant, and also to the “Songs of the Suffering Servant” in the Book of Isaiah that describe an ambiguous person or people in the roles of intercessor, prophet and sacrifice.

John Luna is a biracial, neurodivergent visual artist, poet and critic. His work in visual art undertakes a metamorphosis of materiality drawn from personal, cultural and historical sources. He uses chance-oriented, somatic tools to break down, reveal and reimagine features of memory and the structures that align them.

His work in painting, sculpture, performance and installation has been exhibited in group and solo shows in Canada, the United States and Spain. His written work in art criticism and poetry has appeared across Canada as well as in the United States, Australia and Indonesia. His first poetry collection, Listing, was released through Decoupage Publishing in 2015. His work for The Servant has been supported by the British Columbia Arts Council.

Luna holds a diploma from the Victoria College of Art, a BFA from the University of Victoria and an MFA from the University of Calgary. He was part of the founding faculty of the Vancouver Island School of Art, where he remains a guest instructor in the areas of visual art, art history and visual culture. He is a full-time faculty member of Brentwood College and lives on the unceded traditional territory of Quw’utsun peoples in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia.