William Yang’s landmark exhibition reimagined at NSW State Library
Iconic photographer William Yang’s breakthrough 1977 exhibition Sydneyphiles is being restaged for the first time at the State Library of NSW as part of the Sydney WorldPride 2023 celebrations and opens to the public on Saturday 11 February.
When Sydneyphiles debuted at the Australian Centre for Photography it broke all artistic conventions and launched the self-taught photographer’s 46-year career.
“It was one of the first times Australian gay photos were shown in a gallery,” says William. “You have to remember, this was 1977 and homosexual acts between men were illegal in NSW. The wider community generally disapproved of homosexuality, and some people were against any depiction of gayness, especially in an institution,” he says.
Already a collector of Yang’s work, the State Library jumped at the chance to work with the prolific photographer and celebrated storyteller who made his mark by evocatively capturing real-life interactions in public and private spaces with unflinching candor
“Somehow, I’d stumbled upon a formula – people wanted to see photos of themselves, it didn’t matter if they were in a compromising situation, it was better than being left out,” says William.