Sonis McAllister poses with Aleksandrs in a photo provided by McAllister.
Darcy Logan explains how Sonis McAllister acquired the vintage gas pump while he gives a tour of The Survivors at CASA.
Over the course of seven years, Sonis McAllister ventured across America on the road less traveled to find out what people thought about the end of the world.
His journey began on a trip to Copenhagen during a period of personal reflection when he met a street performer known as Aleksandrs.
Dressed as a golden viking, Aleksandrs told McAllister he needed to explore humanity, specifically North America. Coincidentally, McAllister always had a fascination with America as well.
“America was founded by people who didn’t fit in their places of origin and the descendants of these people have all intermingled and become a nation of freaks and outcasts,” McAllister said.
He documented his trip with a number of interviews, photos and obscure items he had collected along the way.
McAllister’s work is showcased in the CASA gallery in a piece called The Survivors, he wanted to share his experiences in hopes to show people beauty can be seen during the darkest moments.
“I also want people to come to the realization that in the midst of all this confusion and darkness, there is one thread that everyone has in common, and that is we all have had a season of our lives that has been absolutely amazingly positive.” McAllister said.
His trip led him to encounters with pimps, a pope to Rastafarians and even a confrontation with members of the Westboro Baptist Church.
“During my interview with a couple of members from the Westboro Baptist Church, I had asked a few very simple but escalating questions that entrapped them into sort of admitting that they were a hate group,” McAllister said.
Arguably one of the most intriguing interviews came from Tom Metzger, a former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan who ran for president of the United States in the ‘80s.
Although McAllister’s personal beliefs greatly differed from Metzger’s, he couldn’t help being fascinated by his passion and charisma.
“He and Louis Farrakhan are so similar to each other. They are very good at rallying people without them knowing the base of hate behind it. They know how to make you think and find your evil side. They are dangerous,” McAllister said.
Leading up to the debut of McAllister’s exhibit, CASA gallery curator Darcy Logan decided to join the expedition so he could get a better feel for the project and for McAllister as a person.
It was during this leg of the trip in which Logan had his own perspectives changed from the level of hospitality he witnessed.
“A lot of the stereotypes that I thought I would find of people living in the south just weren’t there. Everyone was really open kind generous. It destroyed the illusions that I had. I was expecting to see something from in the heat of the night or Mississippi burning,” Logan said.
Sonis McAllister’s endeavour through America will be on display for the public until Dec. 30. CASA is located at 230 8th Street, South.
