Berta Boys

Overview

‘Berta Boys is a short film and exhibition that contemplates the teetering instability of Alberta’s hyper masculine identity. For Terrence, this exaggerated posturing has fused Alberta’s aesthetic and economic identities into a petrol-philic culture that is put on display via hyper-masculine regionalisms; roof-racks, lift-kits, oil-slogans and truck nuts, these are the accessories of the twenty-first century petrol cowboy. Driving forward with a self-assured camp, Berta Boys looks to open up this imagery by creating an isolated world where men turn their violent gaze on each other. Terrence is joined in the film by fellow Albertan artists Aaron Brown and Gabriel Esteban Molina as co-writers and co-performers. In an effort to explore the masculine archetypes found within themselves, the trio meditate on the unrestricted behaviours that blend tragedy with absurdity.