It’s both the heat and the humidity | Timothy Fairless

1 - 18 April 2022

Histories entwine with their natural and social environments. During the 1990’s, the Sunshine Coast’s objectively beautiful landscape framed a collective emergence, shaking off the throbbing hangover of Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s conservative rule. There were new potentialities.

Coming out queer on the Coast of the 1990’s was exhilarating but stifling and sometimes dangerous – a dichotomy echoed in the natural environment. The social context condoned rampant homophobia, but the beauty of the Coast allowed isolation and freedom. As cane fires filled the air with smoke and debris, safer spaces encouraging personal expression were forming. Sometimes what we see, hear or feel is true and correct – but there’s often more to it. It’s the heat for sure, but it’s also the humidity.

Through video, sound and installation, It’s both the heat and the humidity references this time and place to reveal a personal queer narrative mediated by acoustic ecologies and digital technology. Wrapped in a 90’s-inspired hyper-saturated aesthetic, two immersive works are formed from distorted home movies, contemporary field recordings, and soundtracks that slow down time (so you don’t miss the details). Though stretched across years, the sources are all from here and they invite the viewer to consider their connection to both the place they’re in, and exactly how they got there.

TIMOTHY FAIRLESS
www.timothyfairless.com | IG: @timothyfairless
Timothy Fairless is a composer, experimental music-maker and video artist. Though based in Meanjin (Brisbane), his formative years were on the Sunshine Coast. He explores themes of identity with field recordings, playing instruments in unusual ways and manipulation of old VHS videos. His videos and music have been exhibited in galleries in Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand.