In times when wolves were a real and dangerous threat to people and their livestock, the legend of the Werewolf was established as a way to explain real-world fears; The animal in TENDER IS THE NIGHT becomes a metaphor to explain our current real-world fears. The feral animal depicted serves to remind us of man’s inherent place within nature, even though we have tried to remove ourselves from it in search of control. We are still afraid of the wolf. Why do we try to make sense of the wild? How do we justify real-world fears today? Long ago we created stories of wolves, but what are we supposed to tell stories of now? The depicted animal becomes the metaphor for this: the frustration, anger, ferocity and uncertainty of the world around us— the happenings that are simply out of our control. 

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Skylar Eyre is a Calgary-based visual artist, primarily working in painting, drawing and tattooing. He obtained a BFA in Painting and Glass from Alberta University of the Arts (2020). His work centres around experiences of heightened or transcendental emotional states, and often uses the angry-dog trope to explore tension, aggression, resistance and rage. Eyre explores these themes as stand-ins for the feelings he has experienced living as a gay man in Alberta and the uncertain tension that is presented when occupying such space. Eyre is invested in exploring the rebellious and feral tendencies in imagery and the narratives that form within them. His work encourages viewers to consider the fears associated with benefiting from oppressive systems that require obedience.