Gary Carsley x Justin Shoulder
‘I think that masks are often thought of as concealing whereas we use them to reveal’
Queer artists Gary Carsley and Justin Shoulder discuss their shared paths, first as teacher and student, later as artists challenging conventions with unique practices. In episode three of The Age We’re In, Carsley and Shoulder reflect on their important points of intersection: respecting Indigenous sovereignty, nurturing queer community, committing to the processes of making and using masks to reveal meanings.
‘I try to look for resonance in the juxtaposition of things that happen to share characteristics’
‘Lolo is grandfather in Tagalog … my lolo was a jeepney driver … and part of my curiosity to speak to him was to create a figure that was a kind of jeepney spirit, made of mostly found objects, very assemblage in the same way that the jeepney is a kind of reconfiguration of a military vehicle’
‘Queerness is not embedded in its sexualisation but rather in acts of disobedience’
‘I went to, I think it was Selina's, and Jimmy and the Boys were playing ... And I got a job with them doing backdrops and costumes … then I got a job at the Mardi Gras workshops with Peter Tully when it was in East Sydney or Woolloomooloo, and that led to the kind of the language I use that the scale of things, the use of materials that aren't precious’
‘I started to go clubbing and going to Club Kooky at Club 77. And it's one of those dance floors where I witnessed artists like Sex and Glitter perform on a Sunday night, and they opened up my perception and my sensation to artists who were using the body and talking about politics and everything in a way that was very clowny and sexy’
‘Understanding you’re one part of a community, of an ecology or planet is very grounding … I feel like it’s a very Indigenous mode of understanding your actions have ripple effects’
Speakers
Gary Carsley is an artist, curator and educator whose multi-disciplinary work spans photography, performance, installation, painting, drawing and digital media.
Justin Shoulder is a multidisciplinary artist working in performance, costume, queer parties, sculpture, video and community events.
Gary Carsley and Justin Shoulder are founding members of queer artist collective, The Glitter Militia, which hosts art party Monsta Gras and Club Ate with Bhenji Ra. Through Justin’s alter personas based on queered ancestral myths, they use costumes and prothesis to elaborate Future Folklore. They use their body and craft to forge connections between queer, migrant, spiritual and intercultural experiences.
About
The Age We’re In brings together practitioners, scientists and researchers at different stages of their careers to share ideas and responses to global issues. These conversations highlight the common ground of how and why they pursue their practise and explore challenges and opportunities in their industries.
