Shimmer – CITY WIDE EXHIBITION

ISAAK (SHE/HER) | 19 MAGANDJIN/BRISBANE + DALBY

My costume is very colorful because it represents diversity. Diversity means to me all people who are unique, including for their sexuality, gender and neurodiversity. Growing up in Dalby as a young person, especially as a neurodivergent young person, was hard sometimes.

There are not a lot of mental health supports in Dalby. I had a friend in Dalby that was queer and I was always a queer ally but it wasn’t until I was 18 that I realized I might be queer myself. The first time I tried on a piece of gender affirming clothing I knew. I got so much joy and euphoria from it.

I really wanted my costume to be very feminine to truly express that part of myself. The head piece is like the bowtie part of a dress as I think it looks cute. Dressing femininely helps me to present as female which makes me happy. I started hormone therapy earlier this year and it has been so joyful. I am so glad I took that step.

IRIS | 20 MAGANDJIN/BRISBANE

My costume is based on my song Your Radiance and represents the beautiful malevolent ‘lady of light’. This costume shows the ignorance of flaws in the face of beauty.

ASH

For this work, I drew influence from my childhood and being raised by a single mum. A few years ago, my mum went to a psychic who told her that her crown chakra resembled a pink disco ball. Ever since then, this has become a recurrent motif in my creative projects. My entire life, I have idolised my mum for all the work she put into raising me. The pink disco ball is symbolic of how I perceived her throughout my childhood. I saw her as a beacon of light and hope. I saw her as a pink disco ball.

ANONYMOUS | 20 MAGANDJIN/BRISBANE

Living as a fairly stealth trans person can often feel as though I have a shadow that follows me all the time. There is me, and then there is my transness. And just like a shadow, not everyone can see it all the time. Most of the time it just flitters around in your peripheral vision, dancing around my movement.

But my shadow is not a bad thing—it’s a strength of mine, something heartful that the right people get to see in full view. My choice of fabric was inspired by this concept of this shadow glimmering from just out of view, and the structural angular aspect a symbol of the strength and protection my shadow brings me.

As long as the sun will continue to shine, I will always have my shadow with me. 

ELLIE (SHE/HER) | 13

Beautiful Blossoming – For my creation at Gerwyn Davies’ workshop, I designed a wearable flower sculpture using bright, bold colours. Coming from a regional town where being queer isn’t always accepted, meeting other queer and creative artists has made me feel like I’m finally blooming. Becoming a flower in my piece felt right, as it shows the changes I’m going through as a young trans person.
I named my work Beautiful Blossoming because when I put it on, it reminded me that I don’t need to be afraid of being different. The flower shape represents growing from a small bud into something bold, beautiful and confident. The way the piece both covers and reveals my body reflects how I can hide and show parts of myself at the same time.

Beautiful Blossoming is about acceptance, connection and the courage to be seen.

ROWAN (HE/THEY) | 18 GUBBI GUBBI/KABBI KABBI COUNTRY/GYMPIE

Floating with the Current – My costume is focused on jellyfish, an animal that I resonate with. Jellyfish just go with the flow of the currents, floating in the ocean as they take on the storms as they come. Despite their relaxed, almost clueless nature, they are a symbol of hope for me, so I incorporated that feeling of hope and joy into my costume. My message to queer people is that there’s always another side, there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. We have always been here, and we always will be. We are resilient. The storm will pass.

MAE (THEY/THEM) | MAGANDJIN/BRISBANE

The costume began with the idea of ‘the self, real or imagined, obscured,’ drawing inspiration from my gender identity and my interest in how I interact with the watching world. I abstracted the feminine form, starting by introducing elements of censorship, anonymity, androgyny, hidden selves and angelic forms. Further inspiration came from the exaggerated shapes in drag costumes, as well as René Magritte’s The Great War on Facades and the works of Amy Judd and Aykut Aydogdu, to create a response to the first art pieces that truly spoke to me.

GRAYSON

ANONYMOUS

ANONYMOUS

ANONYMOUS

ANONYMOUS