The Gallery Liverpool presents an exhibition celebrating non British born LBQT artists who have chosen the UK as their home.
Starting with the arrival of Australian visionary Leigh Bowery in 1981, DuoVision (Martin Green and James Lawler) curate an exhibition exploring the cultural impact and legacy of LGBTQI artists on the UK’s cultural landscape. The artists, from a range of ages and backgrounds, reflect on life in Britain before and after the Brexit vote.
Artists featured include;
Gozra Lozano is a Spanish photographer who has worked with gay icons Marc Almond and Pete Burns.
French performance artist Thierry Alexandre creates video and photographic work about gender identity and illusion in response to the English coast.
Oscar nominated costume designer Michael Wilkinson and his partner Tim Martin chose to move to London from Australia 3 years ago and create rich cinematic exotic images based on travel and storytelling.
Phillip Prokopiou is a young South African photographer who has created work inspired by sculptures from the British Museum which have then been reimagined in both a queer and political context.
Angelo Corsa moved from Italy to live in a small flat in Pimlico where he paints gloriously rich portraits of outlandish theatrical characters on pieces of hardboard he finds on the London streets.
South African William Martin creates harnesses from ceramic chains that evoke both a sense of restraint and fragility.
Dee Stanford also uses chains in her work. They are attached to large metal spheres created by fusing tiny figures together. Her work is intense, powerful and brilliantly sculpted.
Ram Shergill and partner Daen Huse push the boundaries of fashion photography to its limits and publish work in their own magazine, The Protagonist.
New Zealand born painter Jason Carr portrays figures from the gay community in both a realistic and romanticised way, fusing queer iconography and gay eroticism.
Each of the artists in the exhibition were recommended by other artists, replicating, the curators Martin Green and James Lawler explain, the strength of the community they’re part of, which is under threat by Brexit.
“There is support and solidarity amongst artists. Each of the artists featuring in the exhibition have inspired their peers, or have created work their peers want to be shown. This reflects the strength of the queer immigrant community, their support for each other and the unifying vision they have. It is these relationships we want to celebrate, and how their charismatic cultural contribution has shaped the UK”.