Escape Artists: The LGBTQIA+ Creators Breaking Free of the Postal Survey Tragedy
When the internet gets too much in this bigoted political climate, filter your feed through the work of these LGBTQIA+ artists . . .
As if Melbourne’s winter wasn’t grim enough, it turns out that some people hate clear blue skies as much as they hate rainbows. On 10 October 2017, a cloudless spring sky was graffitied with the word ‘NO’ in skywriting — encouraging Australians to vote against the legal marriage of LGBTQIA+ citizens in the current postal survey.
The following depiction of the incident has been edited appropriately for our readers (honestly, seeing it once was enough):
It’s hard to stay positive when people you may never meet have a say on whether you should be able to marry the one you love. Hell, I doubt Joe Blow was consulting you on his last-minute plan to shack up with someone he met the day before — but hey, he’s got the right.
You, me and just about everyone we know is tired. Today, what we hear and see online is as emotionally tangible as what we experience in our real-life communities. Documenting and unpacking our identity through online spaces is one of the most personal, accessible and far-reaching ways to communicate with each other in real time — especially in more recent times when leaving your house feels that bit more dangerous.
So — as the seasons, and hopefully Australia’s attitudes towards homophobia, are changing — here’s the work of some local artists documenting LGBTQIA+ history for you to cast your weary eyes and ears on. For free. In the privacy of your own home.
Aaron Billings:@dillings
Homoerotic imagery has been a motif in Aaron Billings’ illustrations and paintings long before the embarrassing postal vote became a hot topic in Australia. Sex scenes from a spectrum of lovers have been penned on intricate backgrounds of rugs, vases and forests. While Billings often takes a playful approach to queerness in his artwork — like his tote bags printed with a drawing of the boy band One Direction changed to read ‘Wonderection’ — his most recent mural, in Brunswick, documents his, and many other people’s, right to marry whomever they damn well want to.
The original mural was defaced shortly after it was painted. Spray-painting ‘VOTE NO’, crossing out a rainbow flag, and spelling out ‘NO FAGS’ was ‘an aggressive display’, says Billings. The vandals’ edit in no way matched the artistic quality of Billings’ mural, and he later repaired the banner by changing the message to read ‘KICK AGAINST HATE’ .
The artist says, ‘I painted a mural of some protesting Renaissance cherubim wearing 80s tracksuits. They held a banner which said “LEGALISE GAY DIVORCE”. Gay Divorce is an issue that is often overlooked in this debate; currently two people of the same sex can get married in New Zealand, return to Australia and receive de facto tax benefits very similar — but not equal — to married couples. But they can never get divorced.
‘I felt so helpless and heartbroken that my mural, which was supposed to be a symbol of solidarity and light humour, had been turned into a symbol of hatred and erasure.’
‘After three days, I was able to come and fix it. I left some of the black lines visible as a reminder of the attack, but I restored the faces, made them angrier. I changed the banner to “KICK AGAINST HATE” to directly address the attacker, to say “you have not defeated me.”’ Now, Billings has collaborated with a series of local artists who have added their personal touch to the mural.
Aaron’s Instagram account is updated regularly with LGBTQIA+ friendly artwork to take a look at when the bigots that have wormed their way into your feed get you down. You can also contact the artist at aaronbillingsmakesyouathing.bigcartel.com or get a copy of Boner Cottage, which he describes as ‘a zine of rage-fuelled drawings done during the Australian same-sex marriage debate. It’s the gayest shit you’ll ever see.’
Nayuka Gorrie:@NayukaGorrie
Nayuka Gorrie’s written work and participation in panels around the country (most recently at the Melbourne Writers Festival ‘Decolonising Feminism’ event) discuss queer and Indigenous experience in straight-forward, non-flowery language, sometimes spiked with sharp jokes and quite a few references to the show Frasier.
In the article Being Black and Queer in Australia Right Now for the National Indigenous Television’s website (via SBS), Gorrie says, ‘As blackfullas we are no strangers to having our identities dragged through the mud by bigots. We are no strangers to the hatred this country can harbour.’
‘For some gay people — namely white gay people — this might be the last big hurdle to climb. For many others such as gay Indigenous people, gay culturally and linguistically diverse people, transpeople and, particularly, trans women of colour, there are many other barriers which do not get nearly the same attention by the movement’.
With inclusivity in mind, the struggle for LGBTQIA+ equality strikes People of Colour’s human rights two-fold. Unfortunately, it’s hard to imagine the same volume of support through colourful badges, Facebook profile picture borders and small-business posters afforded to Aboriginal deaths in custody. However, it’s important to keep the intersections of prejudice in mind when working towards cultural progression.
Following Nayuka’s Twitter feed offers a line-up of articles and opinions to assist those able to educate themselves online. And if you’re lucky enough to attend a panel they appear on, be prepared to leave equal parts entertained and informed.
Frances Cannon:@frances_cannon
It’s often a wavy process when trying to tease apart an artist’s public work from their personal life, but when it comes to Frances Cannon, her personality and values are transparent as they pour into her tiny illustrations and are splayed across her Instagram account.
Cannon is the founder of the Self Love Club: an international group of people connected online or in person, with the club’s name tattooed on them in the name of love — starting with themselves. So it’s no surprise Frances’s work backs all kinds of love, including within the LGTBQIA+ community.
Frances Cannon’s paintings and illustrations have the warmth of a best friend turning up with a coffee for you when you’re hungover, a little something to keep you going. Mental illness and queerness tend to hang out, so if you feel like your mind and body have been taking a beating from the postal survey, Frances’s artwork offers a cerebral vacation through a series of images of different kinds of bodies and lovers. You can even order a ‘tattoo ticket’ from her website (francescannon.bigcartel.com) to have one of her images etched into your skin.
Two Steps on the Water:@twostepsonthewater.bandcamp.com
Beyond looking, you can listen to Two Steps on the Water’s latest release, Sword Songs. This queer folk-punk act is renowned for sold-out shows and leaving their audiences sobbing in dark band rooms across Australia. Crying is catharsis, and if you need to give your tear ducts a head start, play this album.
Most songs on the LP are a stretch longer than the usual three-minute punk banger, which gives you time to really let go of yourself for a few moments longer — particularly on the song ‘Hold Me’ with lyrics like ‘The world is a nightmare, won’t you hold me/Hold me, mama, until the good lord unfolds me/I’ve been painted red, I’ve been painted blue/How can we leave our beds if this what they do?’ The final song on Sword Songs, ‘Can I Not?’, takes a wild turn, sure to leave you rattled, but satisfied.
In conversation with Chloe Alison Escott for Junkee, when asked about the pressures of being a trans woman in the spotlight through the success of her band, lead singer June Jones says she isn’t interested in subscribing to one label, or singing just to connect with audiences — she’s singing back to her fourteen-year-old self, the high school version of herself enamoured with emo music.
Taking some time out to address and connect with your own feelings and sense of self during a ridiculous national ‘debate’ is important, and to know there’s a bunch of other people out there who are as emotionally charged as you is priceless.
Instead of looking up at two letters that cost way more than they’re worth, have a scroll for free through work by artists who are part of your LGBTQIA+ community — unless you can afford to donate or purchase some of their work in support. Positive documentation, connection and understanding are ways up and out of bigotry. And remember to check in on your friends and family. In the great words of Kylie Minogue’s hit ‘On a Night Like This’: we all ‘just want to be together’.
