Transpire at The Dock

Transpire at The Dock

By Meg Hill

Myriad Collective has partnered with the Victorian AIDS Council, City of Melbourne and Library at the Dock to showcase Myriad’s fifth annual IDAHOT exhibition: TRANSPIRE.

IDAHOT is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Showing at Library at the Dock until May 5, the exhibition explores what it means to reveal oneself as trans and/or gender diverse.

The complicated and nuanced nature of visibility and “coming to light” are central to the artworks.

One such example is the work of Sunny Short (pictured) titled Dirty Words, and uses lighting to play on the words (dis)comfort and (don’t)see me.

“It’s obviously about language,” Sunny told a crowd at the opening night. “I’m interested in how closely linked culture and language are and how language can form gender, and gender can form language. It’s quite personal. It’s all based on my experience.”

Darcy T. Gunk, a cofounder of Myriad Collective, opened the exhibition with a reminder.

“I’m especially grateful to the trans women of colour who have gone before us who have fought so hard to make it possible to be trans and gender diverse now,” Darcy said.

“We all have to pay respect to those trans women because they have been the beginnings of where we’re at now, where so many of us – I’m speaking from personal experience – can walk out looking like we do and we don’t get beaten up.”

“I’m grateful to have been able to work will all the artists in this show and I’m really grateful to continue to be able to have the opportunity to work with trans and gender diverse artists. It’s so amazing what our community can do.”

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