In a blend of art and athletics, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame in Fredericton is set to open a new exhibit with a focus on boxing.
Pugilist Pride: A Boxer’s Life, which opens to the public on May 25, is a showcase by freelance photographer Gary Weekes, who spent time at the Fredericton Boxing Club after the initial lockdown phase ended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s the training methods, that camaraderie, the way they go about their profession, and especially because it was taken during COVID, it’s about how they get together and how important the sport of boxing is for them,” said Weekes.
“It was important for them to just really, really connect.”
The exhibit consists of 16 black-and-white photos on canvas with nylon rope knotted through small grommets that stud the edges of each frame, meant to evoke the feeling of the boxing ring.
The idea came together after Weekes asked his neighbour, boxing coach David Furneaux, if he could visit the his gym “just to see what was going on.”
Weekes has been a fan of boxing “all my life, and so to be able to put a camera on it meant that I could really, really explore the sport in a way that I’d never done before.”
Photographer Gary Weekes captures the training and camaraderie of boxers and their sport.
Previously shown at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in 2022 as part of a larger exhibit with American photographer Larry Fink, the work is a “perfect collaboration,” said Carla Saul, operations officer at the Hall of Fame.
“When somebody has something … that represents art and sports and something that people want to see, it’s perfect for us,” she said.
Weekes wanted to capture the moments most people don’t see, the things that happen at the side of the ring.
“Those interactions, like the way that the coach would have to feed the boxer, or if the boxer needed water or needed Vaseline on their faces, it became a more of an intimate experience … But for being such a strong person in the middle of the ring in a battle, they’re kind of helpless.”
The collection also contains a large portrait done in the style of a sports trading card. Tinted in flashy gold and wrapped in actual boxing tape is a profile of Charlie Cavanagh, the silver medallist from the 2022 women’s world boxing championships.
“Boxing has changed,” said Weekes. “Boxing is no longer a male-dominated sport.”
“Charlie Cavanagh has shown that you can compete at the highest level and achieve success,” said Weekes. “She’s a great representative for the sport.”
Pugilist Pride: A Boxer’s Life is free to view by the public and will be on display at the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame on Queen Street in Fredericton until the end of August.
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