 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(July 2023) |
Peter Tully (1947-1992), was a jeweller, designer and artistic director, notable for his influence on jewellery design in Australia through the utilisation of found and non-precious materials, as well as his artistic direction of the Sydney Mardi Gras (1982-1986).
Tully was born Peter Graig (a spelling mistake in the birth register) Tutungi in Carlton, Melbourne on 17 December 1947. [1] At the age of five Tully's family moved to the beach resort of Lorne in Victoria. Of Arabic/Egyptian origin, his grandparents had migrated to Australia between the wars and anglicised their name to the more acceptable Tully. At the age of 16 Tully moved to Melbourne, first working as a clerk, but later moving into display, making props for Public Benefit Shoes, and later with a German display company.
In 1969 Tully, accompanied by the fashion designer Linda Jackson and her partner, the photographer Fran Moore, went to live in Lae in Papua New Guinea. After a year living in Lae the three set out on the hippy trail to Europe, spending much of 1970 and 1971 travelling through South East Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Bali, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1971 Tully arrived in Paris, where he taught English, and undertook trips to the Netherlands and Spain. It was in Paris that Tully became particularly impressed by the collections of African and Oceanic art. In 1972 Tully met up with Linda and Fran in London, before he made his way back to Australia, via Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and India. During this return trip he was particularly impressed by the use of leather and non-precious materials in jewellery in Sudan, and the sale by weight, rather than workmanship, of jewellery in Ethiopia. Meeting up again with Linda and Fran in Thailand, he returned to Melbourne in 1973.
Tully and McDiarmid moved to Sydney in 1975, joining their Melbourne friend and creative collaborators Linda Jackson, and her partner Fran Moore, who had moved there in 1973. This period also saw McDiarmid, Tully and Jackson collaborating with Melbourne fashion designer and retailer Clarence Chai and Sydney-based fashion designer and retailer Jenny Kee. After their move to Sydney with Tully and McDiarmid were soon involved with Kee's fashion store Flamingo Park in Strand Arcade, hand-painting fabrics for Jackson’s dresses. [2] His experience of traditional tribal cultures through many years of travel in New Guinea, Africa and India - along with the vibrant and creative urban sub-cultural 'tribes' he saw New York - stimulated the development of his 'urban tribalwear'.
In 1977 Tully held his second one-man exhibition, exhibiting his Australiana-themed jewellery at Paraphethana Gallery. [3]
Tully was undoubtedly the most influential designer involved with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, through his role as artistic director from 1982-1986 [4] and through the establishment and management of the Workshop. It was in these roles that Tully greatly contributed to the transformation of the Mardi Gras from a political march to cultural event.
He once said of the legendary Paradise Garage disco in New York: 'It was about 85% black and very exciting. They played the best music I'd never heard and the people dressed. Even though they didn't dress expensively, they had lots of style. They could wear a paper bag and look like a million dollars. And they really impressed me. So that was the impetus to get into costume.' [5]
In 1973 Tully met the artist and activist David McDiarmid, [6] becoming lovers for the following two years, and remaining friends and collaborators till Tully's death in 1992.
Tully died in Paris in August 1992 from an AIDS-related illness, at the age of 45. [7]
| |
Tully's work is held in numerous collections, including:[ citation needed ]
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the largest Pride event in Oceania. It includes a variety of events such as the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade and Party, Bondi Beach Drag Races, Harbour Party, the academic discussion panel Queer Thinking, Mardi Gras Film Festival, as well as Fair Day, which attracts 70,000 people to Victoria Park, Sydney.
Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. It is often colloquially referred to as "Darlo".
The Star Observer is a free monthly magazine and online newspaper that caters to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities in Australia.
Asher Bilu is an Australian artist who creates paintings, sculptures and installations. He has also contributed to several films by Director Paul Cox as production designer. He was born in Israel, and began his career as an artist soon after arriving in Australia in 1956. From the start, his art has been abstract, with particular emphasis on technological experimentation. His technique changes as he investigates the use of new media, but his work always reflects his fascination with light, and his love of music and science, especially cosmology.
RAT Parties were a series of large dance parties held in Sydney, Australia during the 1980s and early 1990s. The Powerhouse Museum said that they "formed a key element of an emerging subculture" that was fashion-aware, gay-friendly, appreciated dance music and open, outrageous celebration. Along with the rise of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the success of RAT Parties marked a groundswell of acceptance of Sydney's gay & lesbian community. RAT parties are credited with introducing the visual performance art of VJing to Australia.
Julie Elizabeth McCrossin is an Australian radio broadcaster, journalist, comedian, political commentator and activist for women's and gay rights. She is best known for her role as a team captain on the news-based comedy quiz show Good News Week between 1996 and 2000.
The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in Darlinghurst, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts practice across various disciplines.
Olive Cotton was a pioneering Australian modernist photographer of the 1930s and 1940s working in Sydney. Cotton became a national "name" with a retrospective and touring exhibition 50 years later in 1985. A book of her life and work, published by the National Library of Australia, came out in 1995. Cotton captured her childhood friend Max Dupain from the sidelines at photoshoots, e.g. "Fashion shot, Cronulla Sandhills, circa 1937" and made several portraits of him. Dupain was Cotton's first husband.
Bronwyn Bancroft is an Aboriginal Australian artist, administrator, book illustrator, and among the first three Australian fashion designers to show their work in Paris. She was born in Tenterfield, New South Wales, and trained in Canberra and Sydney.
The Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) is a community-based non-profit organisation committed to the collection, preservation and celebration of material reflecting the lives and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex LGBTI Australians. It is located in Melbourne. The Archives was established as an initiative of the 4th National Homosexual Conference, Sydney, August 1978, drawing on the previous work of founding President Graham Carbery. Since its establishment the collection has grown to over 200,000 items, constituting the largest and most significant collection of material relating to LGBT Australians and the largest collection of LGBT material in Australia, and the most prominent research centre for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex history in Australia.
Jenny Margaret Kee, is an Australian fashion designer.
Linda Jackson is an Australian fashion designer, fashion retailer and artist.
Doris Fish was a drag queen, artist, actor and writer, based in Sydney, Australia, and San Francisco, California, United States. As Doris Fish, Mills wrote and starred in the cult movie classic Vegas in Space.
Richard R Cornish is an Australian art theoretician and practitioner. He is an artist, writer, poet, teacher and left-wing political activist. He has won many prizes for his art and draughtsmanship and was a student at the National Art School.
David McDiarmid (1952–1995) was an artist, designer and political activist, recognised for his prominent and sustained artistic engagement in issues relating to gay male identity and HIV/AIDS. He is also known for his involvement in the gay liberation movement of the early 1970s, when he was the first person arrested at a gay rights protest in Australia, as well as his artistic direction of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. From its inception, McDiarmid's art career encompassed, as both subject and inspiration, gay male sexuality, politics and urban subcultures. His creative techniques included: collage, painting, drawing, calligraphy, mosaic, installation, various forms of print-making, sculpture and artist's books. He was a graphic designer, designer and fabric painter for women's and men's fashion, and an artist and creative director for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras street parades.
C. Moore Hardy , is an Australian photographer, nurse and community worker, known for her extensive photographic documentation of the Sydney queer community since the late 1970s. Hardy's work has encompassed both freelance and commercial photography, featuring candid portraiture of community events, most notably the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and in particular minority groups within the LGBTI community. She successfully ran Starfish Studio Photography Studio/Gallery in Clovelly, NSW for 15 years. Hardy held a major exhibition of over three decades of her documentation of Sydney's LGBTQ+ scene at the National Art School in Sydney.
Peter de Waal is an Australian LGBT rights activist and author. He was a foundation member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and participated in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
The 78ers are a group of LGBT activists who marched in the original Sydney Mardi Gras on 24 June 1978 and participated in the subsequent protests against police violence and the arrests of participants in the Mardi Gras. In 1997 a small group of people who were part of the 1978 events contributed to planning the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 1998. This group became known as the 78ers and has led each year's Mardi Gras parade since 1998.
Ron Austin was an Australian LGBT rights activist, who was known for being one of the founders of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978.
Lance Gowland (1935–2008) was an Australian LGBT rights activist, unionist, peace activist and Communist Party member. He was a member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and as one of the organisers drove the truck in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
