Partners in life and art, Will and Garrett Huxley revel in the excess of their sequined wonderland, paying homage to their queer artist forebears. Their first collective survey, showing in Perth where British-born Will grew up, unfurls a decade of photography, music recordings, costume, film and performance.
Curator Abigail Moncrieff says Will, 42, is the extroverted one in the relationship, although Melbourne-born and Gold Coast-raised Garrett, 51, became “more sparkly” after the pair met. The Huxleys recently drove from their Melbourne home across the Nullarbor with their Staffordshire terrier-cross dogs Edward and Vivienne to perform at Fremantle Arts Centre when the survey show opened there in November.
Moncrieff says the “spirit of celebration of creativity” makes their work compelling. “It’s their skills as dressmakers and performers, a union of talents. They’ve found each other’s soul mate. There’s an incredible optimistic spirit they attach to their work.”
Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams brings together The Huxleys’ major bodies of work, including DisGraceland and Places of Worship. The survey’s central work is Bloodlines. The evolving exhibition, previously presented at Melbourne’s Abbottsford Convent and Sydney’s Carriageworks, pays homage to queer artists lost to AIDS, such as Leigh Bowery, Klaus Nomi, Peter Tully, Derek Jarman, Sylvester and Cookie Mueller, combined with community “stitch’n’bitch” quilt-making sessions.
The Huxleys also have a fictitious band, S.O.S, which means Style Over Substance. “Too much is never enough,” laughs Moncrieff. “I don’t think either of them necessarily consider themselves singers, but I don’t think that’s what’s being celebrated. The energy and drive and creativity to make it happen is what counts. It’s about communion.”
The Huxleys: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
Fremantle Arts Centre
On now–27 January
This article was originally published in the January/February 2025 print issue of Art Guide Australia.
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