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| Gay bars and tarot cards: Liverpool show celebrates LGBT art | Gay bars and tarot cards: Liverpool show celebrates LGBT art |
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| Poignant video footage of 170 empty gay bars in 13 UK cities will greet visitors to the UK’s largest exhibition exploring LGBT themes and history through contemporary art. | Poignant video footage of 170 empty gay bars in 13 UK cities will greet visitors to the UK’s largest exhibition exploring LGBT themes and history through contemporary art. |
| The footage, filmed over nine months by artists Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, is part of an exhibition opening this week at Liverpool’s Walker art gallery. The exhibition is one of a number of cultural activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act, which in 1967 partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales. | The footage, filmed over nine months by artists Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings, is part of an exhibition opening this week at Liverpool’s Walker art gallery. The exhibition is one of a number of cultural activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act, which in 1967 partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales. |
| Charlotte Keenan, the curator of British art at National Museums Liverpool, said the show was one of the most important exhibitions in the Walker’s history. “We are doing something a bit different,” she said. “We are putting ourselves out there.” | Charlotte Keenan, the curator of British art at National Museums Liverpool, said the show was one of the most important exhibitions in the Walker’s history. “We are doing something a bit different,” she said. “We are putting ourselves out there.” |
| She said it reflected an ambition the gallery had held for years “to make queer British art and its importance to art history permanently visible within our galleries”. | She said it reflected an ambition the gallery had held for years “to make queer British art and its importance to art history permanently visible within our galleries”. |
| The video by Quinlan and Hastings shows bars, clubs and other gay spaces that were open last year but that may not be in 10 years’ time, whether owing to gentrification, rising rents or changing social habits. | The video by Quinlan and Hastings shows bars, clubs and other gay spaces that were open last year but that may not be in 10 years’ time, whether owing to gentrification, rising rents or changing social habits. |
| “It is intended as an artwork and as a public document,” said Hastings. “They are not just drinking spaces, they are social spaces and safe spaces and political spaces … we just think it is really crap that they are closing.” | “It is intended as an artwork and as a public document,” said Hastings. “They are not just drinking spaces, they are social spaces and safe spaces and political spaces … we just think it is really crap that they are closing.” |
| As networks migrate online and newly opened gay bars become more nakedly commercial, the artists worry that the bars they have filmed will be gone in 20 years. | As networks migrate online and newly opened gay bars become more nakedly commercial, the artists worry that the bars they have filmed will be gone in 20 years. |
| “It’s like when my parents talk about free university education,” Hastings said. “You can hardly believe that existed.” | “It’s like when my parents talk about free university education,” Hastings said. “You can hardly believe that existed.” |
| The Walker show follows on from the Queer British Art exhibition at Tate Britain, which features work dating from 1861-1967. | The Walker show follows on from the Queer British Art exhibition at Tate Britain, which features work dating from 1861-1967. |
| More than 100 contemporary artworks will go on display at the Liverpool gallery, all taken from the Arts Council Collection and the Walker’s own collection. The Walker has acquired Quinlan and Hastings’ work, titled UK Gay Bar Directory. | More than 100 contemporary artworks will go on display at the Liverpool gallery, all taken from the Arts Council Collection and the Walker’s own collection. The Walker has acquired Quinlan and Hastings’ work, titled UK Gay Bar Directory. |
| Other newly bought works on display include self-portraits by the South African photographer Zanele Muholi posing as a “Miss Lesbian” beauty queen; and John Walter’s Alien Sex Club, a performance piece including tarot card readings, designed to encourage conversation about HIV. | Other newly bought works on display include self-portraits by the South African photographer Zanele Muholi posing as a “Miss Lesbian” beauty queen; and John Walter’s Alien Sex Club, a performance piece including tarot card readings, designed to encourage conversation about HIV. |
| Work from the Arts Council Collection includes Morphine by Derek Jarman, painted in 1992 in response to the homophobic outing of a soap actor by a tabloid newspaper. | Work from the Arts Council Collection includes Morphine by Derek Jarman, painted in 1992 in response to the homophobic outing of a soap actor by a tabloid newspaper. |
| In the first gallery is a work by Anya Gallaccio consisting of a pair of mahogany doors with fresh gerbera flowers in them. During the run the flowers will decompose, a reminder or fading beauty and the brevity of life. | In the first gallery is a work by Anya Gallaccio consisting of a pair of mahogany doors with fresh gerbera flowers in them. During the run the flowers will decompose, a reminder or fading beauty and the brevity of life. |
| Keenan said making sure queer art was visible could include relatively simple but important steps such as changing the description of a star of the Walker’s collection, David Hockney’s 1966 painting Peter Getting out of Nick’s Pool, which won the John Moores painting prize in the same year as the Sexual Offences Act was passed. | Keenan said making sure queer art was visible could include relatively simple but important steps such as changing the description of a star of the Walker’s collection, David Hockney’s 1966 painting Peter Getting out of Nick’s Pool, which won the John Moores painting prize in the same year as the Sexual Offences Act was passed. |
| Previously, Peter was described as a friend of Hockney. “We’re much more explicit about saying this was Hockney’s boyfriend and of course this is a painting about desire and longing,” she said. | Previously, Peter was described as a friend of Hockney. “We’re much more explicit about saying this was Hockney’s boyfriend and of course this is a painting about desire and longing,” she said. |
| Other works in the show include Steve McQueen’s 1993 film Bear, showing him wrestling naked with another man, and Isaac Julien’s erotically charged cowboy film The Long Road to Mazatlan. | Other works in the show include Steve McQueen’s 1993 film Bear, showing him wrestling naked with another man, and Isaac Julien’s erotically charged cowboy film The Long Road to Mazatlan. |
| The works explore and make visible themes of “sexuality, gender identity and queerness”, although many of the works have a wider resonance, said Keenan. | The works explore and make visible themes of “sexuality, gender identity and queerness”, although many of the works have a wider resonance, said Keenan. |
| For example, the footage of gay bars “transcends sexuality. Anyone can watch the work and identify with it and have a sense of how important a bar, club or network is and what happens if that’s taken away.” | For example, the footage of gay bars “transcends sexuality. Anyone can watch the work and identify with it and have a sense of how important a bar, club or network is and what happens if that’s taken away.” |
| • Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender & Identity is at the Walker art gallery from 28 July to 5 November. It will open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in December. | • Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender & Identity is at the Walker art gallery from 28 July to 5 November. It will open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery in December. |
| This article was amended on 1 August 2017 to add details of the artwork featured in one of the photos. |