Acclaimed performance art duo Will and Garrett Huxley bring a decade of creativity to Fremantle Arts Centre with Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams, their first retrospective exhibition, opening on November 9 and running through January 27.
Known for their extravagant, androgynous, and unapologetically queer aesthetic, The Huxleys' work is a visual feast of sparkle, absurdity, and liberation, transforming everyday life into scenes of magic and escapism.
The kaleidoscopic exhibition celebrates 10 years of collaboration between partners in life and art of the Gumbaynggirr/Yorta Yorta man (Garrett) and Perth-raised artist (Will). Reflecting on their youth, both Will and Garrett recall feeling the pressure to suppress their true selves and identities.
Through their art, they now reclaim and celebrate those very elements of identity once silenced.
"Our work seeks to make up for lost time, creating something that is unashamed, loud, colourful, joyful, and challenging," they said.
Featuring 58 works, the exhibition spans photography, film, craft, costume, and performance art. Highlights include quilts from their 2022 Bloodlines series and the vibrant makeup photographs of their 2021 Places of Worship exhibition.
Each piece radiates a celebration of difference, alternative utopian visions, and a world of unbound self-expression.
The Huxleys' work takes inspiration from fashion designer Malcolm McLaren's mantra, "Better a spectacular failure than a benign success." This ethos shines through in their elaborate costumes, crafted with glam rock sequins, glitter, and rare fabrics over weeks of work.
"As queer people, we've had to hide ourselves away for so many years, so we use the brightest, most sparkly fabrics so we can't be ignored!"
Arriving just in time for PrideFEST WA, The Huxleys will also host a ticketed event, Dance This Mess Around—an evening of vibrant performances and wild celebration, promising an immersive experience that challenges boundaries of art and identity.
"Coming back to showcase my art is so special and healing after all this time. This feels like the perfect homecoming to make peace with the past and celebrate the future," the duo said in a joint statement.
City of Fremantle Director of Creative Arts and Community, Pete Stone, said the Huxleys' "unique approach to art and performance is both captivating and challenging, offering an important dialogue on queer identity and creative freedom".
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams will be open at Fremantle Arts Centre from November 9, 2024, to January 27, 2025.
