Story by Sanita Fejzic

I have to put it out there: except for some knowledge of tennis, I am totally clueless in the world of athletics. The FIFA World Cup of soccer has had very little effect on me, though I have been seen to go a little crazy when actually watching a game. But the photos created by Dan Ziemkiewicz and Martyna Piechowski for a calendar promoting the Ottawa Wolves Rugby Football Club are a whole other kind of sport.

At play here are art and fetish, fused together through some serious local talent. Piechowski and Ziemkiewicz are long-time collaborators who push the creative envelope in original and provocative ways with this project. (You may know Ziemkiewicz's work from his rustics across central america exhibition at Arts and Architecture in May; it was reminiscent of Pedro Isztin’s work throughout the Americas: a colorful, simple and rough kind of beauty.)

The goal was straightforward: produce a unique and fun 2011 Ottawa Wolves Calendar as an unusual creative challenge—and raise money for the team along the way. “I've never considered sports or athletes as a subject of creative work before,” explains Piechowski. “The Wolves stood out for being the only gay-friendly rugby club in Ottawa, providing more interest and creative avenues to explore.”

Experimenting with unconventional ways of representing the team was fundamental to the duo. “We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve done creative projects together in the past,” she adds, referring to their work for the online magazine Dinner Jacket.

This time they’re taking it a notch higher, addressing issues of sexuality and sport with a fine balance of humour and aesthetic.

The Wolves are predominately gay in an otherwise straight league and the photos certainly do not shy away from this reality. When asked if there is an explicit political statement being made, Ziemkiewicz (himself a member of the Wolves team) said simply, “I’m a creative person and I like to challenge people through art.”

In conversation, Piechowski and Ziemkiewicz finish each other’s sentences and I discover that the shared vision, while not political in nature, is fearlessly original.

“We didn’t create your usual calendar that could be shot in two or three days. In fact, we’re still working on some shots,” says Ziemkiewicz. After looking at what had been done in the world of sports calendars, the pair didn’t feel like regurgitating your expected naked-jocks-in-a-locker-room images.

“We looked for places, costumes, events and situations that were out of the ordinary,” says Piechowski. One photo, for instance, playfully depicts of a gay marriage with a 380-pound rubgy player in a wedding dress. There’s also an iconic image turned upside down in an updated version of The Last Supper, a sexy send up of the Village People, and images that feature an assortment of fetish wear.

“It offers a full spectrum of emotions,” said Ziemkiewicz of the calendar. “It will tickle some and make others laugh or feel a bit offended and we’re okay with that.”

The photo team got some big assists from the transgendered community, who donated their time, talent and costumes. “Zelda Marshall and Krystal Caring even did the full make-up for the boys,” said Piechowski.

If you are left wondering about what impact the 12 photographs will have as a whole, check out the calendar launch party at La Petite Mort Gallery on August 19, when you can spend time with the players, view the photographs and, of course, buy the calendar.

Can’t wait until August? Then preorder the calendar now and start planning for how you’ll handle a new rugby fetish on your wall every month in 2011.