“We think of ourselves as gay terrorists or cosmic wizards. Too much is never enough. If you think what we are wearing is too much, the answer is: No.”
You could say a lot about The Huxleys. You could say too much about the Huxleys but you could never say too little. The performance duo has been parading their gender-fucking act throughout Australia, spreading their surreal imagery through an appeal to the otherworldliness of queer presentation.
“I saw David Bowie on Rage late at night when I was a kid and I only thought: ‘freedom’. That is how we see our work. Seeing outside of everyday life and what people expect of you. Life doesn’t have to be prescribed. You can be as ridiculous or as amazing as you can dream of, that is our world,” says Will.
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Will and Garrett Huxley have been performing since 2014, exhibiting their heightened sense of exuberance and joy through an art that refuses to be categorised.
“We are inspired by a lot of surrealist art. Looking at those shapes and ideas there really is no right or wrong, there are no binaries, and our work sits outside of that.”
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For this year’s Melbourne International Fringe Festival, The Huxleys are planning a performance piece meets photoshoot meets cishet-larping event entitled The Winner Takes All. The piece is designed as an arts happening tinged with queer joy, encouraging people from Melbourne’s LGBTQIA+ community to share in the unique joy of wrestling sports away from the straights and making it weird.
Asking any performer to understand the impetus for their art is always a loaded question, but in this case, I had no choice.
“It came from years of trauma! Growing up in the times that we did, forced to play team sports in aggressively heteronormative spaces, we were completely at odds with that world and we were both bullied endlessly, even by PE teachers.
“Those things are traumatic but if we can make peace and laugh at it by revisiting, that is what is at the heart of this project. As queer people, we are often ostracised from athletics, and we thought let’s find a way of letting people be the sports hero that they wanted to be, even for a moment,” Will tells me.
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“As artists, it is hard to make a living, but Australia generally worships sport, so we thought that we should thrust art into sport and see if that makes a difference.”
For the event, The Huxleys are encouraging people to come in their most eccentric takes on sport archetypes: Over-eager Spectator, Sporting Failure, Umpire, Mascot and Orange Slice Attendant (very important). Participants are encouraged to dress up in all manner of heightened delights, encouraging them to make their own spin on the many archetypes of sport events glamour.
The aim is to come away with a series of photographs that are camp and surreal, strange and joyous.
“The idea is that we are going to be wearing costumes that are completely impractical to play sports in but it doesn’t matter; it is going to be fashion on the field. Losing is more fun for me anyway. I have always championed losing.”
It isn’t simply a gathering or an art-happening, it is an almost festival-like atmosphere of queer celebration:
“We are going to make it into a bit of a party atmosphere. At the end of the day, we are making art. You know how at the start of sporting events they get someone to sing a terrible national anthem?
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“Our plan is to bring in Nefertiti LaNegra (who is one of our favourite performers) to come out and sing a queer anthem. We want it to be dumb and fun where people can play sports in ridiculous gear and also enjoy all of the other performers. There will be DJs, drag artists, gothic cheerleaders… It will be joyous. We want people to come together and laugh making art.”
I ask Will if losing will be the aim of the game with this event.
“The ethos has been to fail spectacularly, and that is the joy. There will be no losing and no winning. I hope this project at least inspires people to dress up and express themselves and their love (or hatred) of sports.
“These photos may fail, but it will be unforgettable regardless. Light and humour and being creative is always the way forward; I hope that some die-hard sports fans see these images and either be horrified or excited. Hopefully both!”
For more information and to register for The Winner Takes It All, head here.
