Edmund Pearce Gallery in Melbourne is set to host a new exhibition documenting the rise of the gay liberation movement in Australian in the 1970s, as depicted by photographers Philip Potter, John Storey, John Englart, Barbara Creed, Ponch Hawkes and Rennie Ellis.
The exhibition Out of the closets, into the streets: gay liberation photography 1971-73 pictures the very beginning of the gay liberation movement in Australia through the work of Philip Potter, John Storey, John Englart, Barbara Creed, Ponch Hawkes and Rennie Ellis. As gay people found their voice in the early 1970s, artists, often at the very beginning of their careers, were there to capture meetings in lounge rooms, consciousness raising groups and street protests.
Coinciding with The World AIDS conference and NiteArt, the exhibition examines, for the first time, images from the period as works of art as much as social documents. The exhibition is curated by Dr Marcus Bunyan and Nicholas Henderson with a catalogue essay by Professor Dennis Altman.
Out Of The Closets, Into The Streets: Gay Liberation Photography 1971-73 is showing from 22-26 July at Edmund Pearce Gallery, Level 2, Nicholas Building 37 Swanston Street (cnr Flinders Lane), Melbourne.
More information: www.edmundpearce.com.au
Confrontation, Gay Pride Week Picnic, Botanical Gardens 1973, printed 2014. Photo by Rennie Ellis.
Untitled [Queens], 1971, printed 2014. Photo by Phillip Potter.
Untitled [Cricket is homosexual], Melbourne c. 1971-1973, printed 2014. Photo by Anonymous.