Iconic photographer William Yang’s breakthrough 1977 exhibition Sydneyphiles is being restaged for the first time at the State Library of NSW as part of the Sydney WorldPride 2023 celebrations and is now open to the public.

When Sydneyphiles debuted at the Australian Centre for Photography it broke all artistic conventions and launched the self-taught photographer’s 46-year career.

“It was one of the first times Australian gay photos were shown in a gallery,” says William. “You have to remember, this was 1977 and homosexual acts between men were illegal in NSW. The wider community generally disapproved of homosexuality, and some people were against any depiction of gayness, especially in an institution,” he says.

Already a collector of Yang’s work, the State Library jumped at the chance to work with the prolific photographer and celebrated storyteller who made his mark by evocatively capturing real-life interactions in public and private spaces with unflinching candour

“Somehow, I’d stumbled upon a formula – people wanted to see photos of themselves, it didn’t matter if they were in a compromising situation, it was better than being left out,” says William.

The exhibition not only looks at the heady days of Yang’s early career, but also the aftermath of the show’s success. Whether it was a private party, public gathering, police raid, pop concert, gallery opening, fashion parade or dinner party with friends, Yang was
most certainly there, creating the photo stories which would enable him to move from behind the camera and onto the stage to become a renowned performance artist in the 1980s.

Sydneyphiles Reimagined is on display in the State Library’s Amaze Gallery till 4 June. 2023. sl.nsw.gov.au/amaze The Library will also present little-known LGBTQI+ stories from the collection in the
Amaze Gallery and in the upcoming Pride (R)evolution exhibition,
opening 18 February. sl.nsw.gov.au/pride.

William Yang will be performing Gay Sydney: A Memoir at the Seymour Centre from 19 to 23 February, 2023.