“Sydneyphiles Reimagined” revives William Yang’s 1977 exhibition, capturing both the conventional side of Sydney and the clandestine gay party scene. He has since held over twenty individual exhibitions across Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, including the major retrospective show, Seeing and Being Seen (2021) at QAGOMA in Brisbane.
In this era of smartphones and the ubiquitous selfie, we’ve all become photographers. Therefore, it might appear somewhat peculiar to be composing a review of a photography exhibition, as, in their digital state, photographs are everywhere and, paradoxically, often overlooked.
However, William Yang’s photographs in “Sydneyphiles” present the antithesis of the disposable selfie. Rather than hasty snapshots, he offers meticulously composed and thoughtfully curated portraits.
William Yang’s slideshows
In 1989 William Yang combined his skills as a writer and a visual artist and began to perform monologues with slide projections in the theatre. His famed monologue performances include Sadness, Friends of Dorothy, The North, Blood Links, China and Shadows. He has filmed three of his theatre performances which have been broadcast on ABC1. The film Sadness, directed by Tony Ayres, has received a string of awards. It was broadcast on SBS and screened internationally.
Through his renowned slideshow presentations, he not only narrates the stories behind these images but also identifies the subjects, ensuring they are not consigned to oblivion or dismissed. In this process, Yang reaffirms his own presence within the frame, just as he remains an integral part of the artistic and LGBTQ+ communities he has both lived among and captured on film. His efforts bring these photographs back to life in the present moment.
10 photography exhibitions that defined Australia
Alternative Sydney
William Yang is 80 years young. His cameras have been his constant companions for half a century, diligently capturing social gatherings for newspaper society pages and fashion magazines.
Yang has amassed a comprehensive visual archive of Sydney’s cultural life, commencing with his inaugural photography exhibition, “Sydneyphiles.” This groundbreaking display was first presented at the former ACP gallery on Oxford Street, Paddington, back in 1977. It meticulously chronicled both the mainstream Sydney social scene and the previously prohibited gay party culture from the time of his arrival in Sydney in 1969.
This invaluable collection, recognized as an invaluable resource, has been acquired by the State Library of New South Wales. Now, the entirety of the collection has been reintroduced, coinciding with Sydney World Pride 2023. The theme for Pride, “Mana Nangamai Djuralli,” translates to “Gather, Dream, Amplify” in the Gadigal language, and is particularly fitting for this exhibition.
Portraits and private parties
The exhibition features an extensive collection of over 200 images, predominantly portraits, showcasing an array of subjects. Among these subjects are notable celebrities like Brett Whiteley, Kate Fitzpatrick, Jackie Weaver, Penelope Seidler, Robyn Nevin, and many more. Interspersed among these portraits are candid shots, bearing titles such as “Men Engaging” and “Gary’s Drug Injection.”
“Untitled no 1 (men sleeping)” shows two naked young men spooning in post-coital slumber in the basement of a house party. “Doris Fish with man in bondage gear” shows the eponymous drag queen Doris performing fellatio on the man – viewers get much more than the label suggests.
The photos made at Madame Lash‘s private parties feature guests tied to a rack surrounded by crowds of party-goers. It is a part of Sydney’s recent cultural history that few people still alive have witnessed.
Many of Yang’s subjects were lost to the AIDS epidemic, powerfully documented in his photographs and performances in unforgettably moving works such as Sadness and Friends of Dorothy.
Gay liberation
Yang’s work also features in The Party exhibition at UNSW Galleries, another significant photographic exhibition of Sydney gay scene beginning with the inaugural Mardi Gras in 1978 that became infamous for the brutality of the NSW police.
Mardi Gras is now a celebration of LGBTQI culture and identity, and has transitioned from illegality to recognition, and now the NSW Police participate.
Awards and recognition
William Yang was awarded Bachelor of Arts in Architecture from the University of Queensland in 1969, and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Queensland in 1989. He has been recognised as one of the 45 Rainbow Champions by Sydney WorldPride, representing 45 years since the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras on 24 June 1978. He recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sydney Theatre Company.
William Yang’s work is held in the collections of many institutions including the National Gallery of Australia; National Library of Australia; National Portrait Gallery; Art Gallery of New South Wales; Museum of Contemporary Arts, Sydney; State Library of New South Wales; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art; University of Queensland Art Museum; Cairns Regional Art Gallery, Queensland; National Gallery of Victoria; State Library of Victoria; Art Gallery of Western Australia; Art Gallery of South Australia; Higashikawa-cho Municipal Gallery, Hokkaido, Japan; and Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Japan.
He expressed “no regrets or apologies” for the radical lifestyle he captures. In presenting the slideshow Sydneyphiles, he evinced a new level of quiet defiance and a newly stated sense of purpose for his work.
Sydneyphiles was at State Library of NSW until June 4, 2023
