80's to Lately: A Queer Celebration
Artist Statement
A series of intimate portraits of individuals who grew up in the ‘80s – a defining decade in
queer history of progress and setbacks. Juxtaposed are profiles of a current generation who
represent what being queer can be today. Following the artist’s work with the Terrence
Higgins Trust and Stonewall Housing, this exhibition was born from research and coffee
conversations over a period of 2.5 years, exploring queer identity, culture and sexuality.
Special thanks to all the contributors:
Alexis, Paul Allard, Dean Atta, Lola Clavo, Hannah Holland, Kate Jessop, Princess Julia, Francine Merry, Tareq Sayed Rajab de Montford, Fabio Santos, Terry O’Leary, Andy Polaris
Hashtag: #80s_To_Lately
Twitter: @HussinaRaja
Instagram: @HussinaRaja
Alexis - Make-up Artist and Performer
Paul Allard - Creative
Dean Atta - Poet, Writer and Educator
Lola Clavo - Filmmaker
Hannah Holland - DJ and Music Producer
Francine Merry - Musician
Tareq Sayed Rajab de Montford - Artist
Terry O’Leary - Forum Theatre Practitioner
Andy Polaris - Musician, Visual Stylist and Writer
Paul Allard - Creative
“...the music and the scene was much smaller so you knew people...whereas the gay scene now is so generic...all the values of the gay scene now are muscles, drugs and sort of manufactured music...which all sounds the same, there’s nothing unique..”
Tareq Sayed Rajab de Montford - Artist
“...there’s a danger of becoming the monster you set out to fight...anyone who fights or is an activist or wants to represent something of equality, they can’t criticise the things of the people that they disagree with because that’s exactly why they turned into the queer, because they don’t want that done to themselves...”
Dean Atta - Poet, Writer and Educator
“I think of the LGBT community cos, you know you gotta find what fits for you, not all queer, or LGBT spaces are gonna be right for you, like not all spaces in general are gonna be right for you so people are creating the spaces that they need, so you either gotta find people with a similar mindset to you, or create a space.”
Lola Clavo - Filmmaker