When they met in Melbourne in 2006, Garrett and Will Huxley found that they had much in common: not least their individual experiences growing up queer in traditional suburban Australia, and their passions for art and creativity. The pair soon began to collaborate as The Huxleys, combining their separate practices of photography, filmmaking, costume design and performance. From their 2018 Postcards from the Edge series, these individual works on paper were created to sit as a diptych and are a visual representation of the Huxleys' love story. 'Postcards from the Edge is our story, two small town boys surviving against the odds. We learned at a young age that if you can't assimilate, it's time to exaggerate. As Oscar Wilde famously said "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." We took that advice and embellished it. These images span from opposite sides of a sunburnt land. Telling the tale of two lost boys looking for that rare kindred bird of a feather to fly together.' The artists have overlaid themselves on vintage scenes of their respective home towns (Surfers Paradise and Perth), their hearts linked via a blood-red sequined cord. The Bronski Beat's iconic hit Smalltown Boy is used as inspiration, narrative and soundtrack for this exploration of the artists' common lived experiences.
Purchased 2021
© The Huxleys
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