Access Make a Scene

Stop two. This next room opens up brightly, a contrast to the club scene you have just left. The walls are painted white and patented with bold red, blue, and yellow lines. A design inspired by the artwork of Piet Mondrian. In this room, the cultural impact and influence of the fashions of Hairy Dog and Glamourpussy are explored.

On your left is Hairy Dog by Mark Wilson. The label drew inspiration from Australian performance artist Leigh Bowery and the 'club kid' movement of the early '90s. His designs are brightly coloured using different textures and fabrics and have an avant-garde and whimsical DIY quality. Mark's career was tragically short – he passed away at just 19 – yet his impact within the Brisbane community and beyond lives on through his garments and the memories of his friends.

On your right is Glamourpussy, the label begun by Kenn Bushby and Chrissy Feld. Their clothes were designed for nightclub fashion shows which were highly popular in the late 80s and early 90s. The clothes are playful but refined and sexy, featuring lots of sequins, feathers, and faux fur. Ken left the label in 1991, but Chrissy continued with several other collaborations until the label closed in 1997. The label is remembered fondly for its excessive glamour and extravagant fashion parades.

The fashion displays explores how culture spread before the internet through magazines and music. It highlights the inspirations for both labels, designers, and many young queer people at the time. Central to this display is an outfit loaned from the Kylie Minogue archives at Melbourne Arts Centre, worn in the 1990 music video clip 'Better the Devil You Know'. A photographic portrait of Leigh Bowery and the book 'Sex' by Madonna are also displayed to convey their influences within this cultural landscape. A selection of popular magazines of the early '90s like The Face, Stiletto, Outrage, and ID are also displayed.

Stop three. As you move between two freestanding walls, the mood shifts again. Here, the Mondrian inspired design scheme is black, white, and red. The walls and two low-lying cases are filled with pictures, garments, and ephemera.

On your left, photographs, garments, and documents explore the effect of the early 90s HIV AIDS epidemic on the LGBTQ+ individuals and community. Queensland's political environment during the early years of the HIV AIDS epidemic was hostile to the communities most impacted. Given the lack of response from the Bjelke-Petersen Government, LGBTQ+ community members met to discuss the looming crisis, and in November 1984, community members resolved to form what later became the Queensland AIDS Council. The new organisation's earlier activities, welfare support, education, and fundraising grew to include regional branches, housing, and supporting a gay and lesbian health service. With growing advocacy, a more informed public, and a new treatment on the horizon, the welfare of those affected by the epidemic was eventually improved.

On the right, the focus turns to politics. The early '90s were marked by social and political change for the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to this time, LGBTQ+ Queenslanders had lived with decades of oppression, risking their careers, loss of friends and family relationships, and even imprisonment just for living as their true selves.

Decriminalisation of homosexual acts between consenting male adults was achieved in Queensland in 1990 after decades of campaigning and activism by LGBTQ+ community members and their allies. The display case features government documents that relate to to the decriminalisation by the Queensland government as well as garments associated with protest. The walls feature black and white documentary style photographs that display the growing visibility and sense of pride within the LGBTQ+ community. The photos represent the first Brisbane Pride Rally, march, and dance party in 1990 and a range of other protests in the following years. After the decriminalisation of homosexuality was momentous as members of the community could identify publicly as LGBTQ+ without fear of prosecution.

Follow the wall around on the right to find the first edition of Queensland Pride newspaper and explore 4ZZZ's history of queer programming.

Stop four. This section of the gallery shows the many ways LGBTQ+ people expressed themselves through clothing in the early 1990s. In this section of the exhibition, other examples of queer fashion are on display, including women's suiting, overalls, vintage clothing from the 1960s and '70s, Bond singlets, and rave wear.

To your right, leather vests and biker caps represent the dress codes of BootCo and Ms Wicked communities. Dressing alike resulted in an important sense of community, uniforms, and leather. Inspired by these codes, artist Brenton Heath-Kerr created wearable artworks called Tom and Betty. One of them is on display here.

Nearby, a case holds costumes from the Australian film 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'. Drag shows have been a popular form of entertainment since the 1940s, but gained extra visibility through the '90s with the release of the film. Sequins and organza explode with colour, recalling drags heightened theatricality.

Also celebrated here is Brisbane's own 'The Queen's Ball', a queer community awards night held every year and it's considered the world's oldest continually running LGBTQIA+ events kind in the world. The venues were also important as the clothing. While many of these events attracted a mixed crowd and were not strictly LGBTQ+ scene, they created inclusive anti-establishment spaces for important cultural change, where diverse sexual identities were embraced as part of a broader ethos of unity, freedom, and acceptance.

Also on display here is the poster wall that explores popular Brisbane parties and venues of the early 1990s. An interactive display also explores the emergence of house music and the importance of music and DJs to the scene as they influenced all facets of pop culture, including music.