Peter Tully (1947-1992), was a jeweller, designer and artistic director, notable for his influence on jewellery design in Australia through the utilisation of found and non-precious materials, as well as his artistic direction of the
Sydney Mardi Gras
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...
(1982-1986).
Early life and education
Tully was born Peter Graig (a spelling mistake in the birth register) Tutungi in Carlton, Melbourne on 17 December 1947. At the age of five Tully's family moved to the beach resort of Lorne in Victoria. Of Arabic/Egyptian origin, his grandparents had migrated to Australia between the wars and anglicised their name to the more acceptable Tully. At the age of 16 Tully moved to Melbourne, first working as a clerk, but later moving into display, making props for Public Benefit Shoes, and later with a German display company.
Travels
In 1969 Tully, accompanied by the fashion designer
Linda Jackson and her partner, the photographer Fran Moore, went to live in
Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
. After a year living in Lae the three set out on the
hippy
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
trail to Europe, spending much of 1970 and 1971 travelling through
South East Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Bali, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. In 1971 Tully arrived in Paris, where he taught English, and undertook trips to the Netherlands and Spain. It was in Paris that Tully became particularly impressed by the collections of African and Oceanic art. In 1972 Tully met up with Linda and Fran in London, before he made his way back to Australia, via Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and India. During this return trip he was particularly impressed by the use of leather and non-precious materials in jewellery in Sudan, and the sale by weight, rather than workmanship, of jewellery in Ethiopia. Meeting up again with Linda and Fran in Thailand, he returned to Melbourne in 1973.
Career
Tully and McDiarmid moved to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1975, joining their
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
friend and creative collaborators Linda Jackson, and her partner Fran Moore, who had moved there in 1973. This period also saw McDiarmid, Tully and Jackson collaborating with Melbourne fashion designer and retailer
Clarence Chai and Sydney-based fashion designer and retailer
Jenny Kee
Jenny Margaret Kee, (born 24 January 1947) is an Australian fashion designer.
Early life
Kee was born on 24 January 1947 in Bondi, New South Wales to a Chinese father and a sixth-generation Australian mother of Italian-English descent. Kee's ...
. After their move to Sydney with Tully and McDiarmid were soon involved with Kee's fashion store Flamingo Park in Strand Arcade, hand-painting fabrics for Jackson’s dresses.
His experience of traditional tribal cultures through many years of travel in New Guinea, Africa and India - along with the vibrant and creative urban sub-cultural 'tribes' he saw New York - stimulated the development of his 'urban tribalwear'.
In 1977 Tully held his second one-man exhibition, exhibiting his Australiana-themed jewellery at Paraphethana Gallery.
Tully was undoubtedly the most influential designer involved with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, through his role as artistic director from 1982-1986 and through the establishment and management of the Workshop. It was in these roles that Tully greatly contributed to the transformation of the Mardi Gras from a political march to cultural event.
He once said of the legendary Paradise Garage disco in New York: 'It was about 85% black and very exciting. They played the best music I'd never heard and the people dressed. Even though they didn't dress expensively, they had lots of style. They could wear a paper bag and look like a million dollars. And they really impressed me. So that was the impetus to get into costume.'
Personal life and death
In 1973 Tully met the artist and activist
David McDiarmid
David McDiarmid (1952–1995) was an artist, designer and political activist, recognised for his prominent and sustained artistic engagement in issues relating to gay male identity and HIV/AIDS. He is also known for his involvement in the gay libe ...
, becoming lovers for the following two years, and remaining friends and collaborators till Tully's death in 1992.
Tully died in Paris in August 1992 from an
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
-related illness, at the age of 45.
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
* "Passion for Plastics" Peter Tully at Aces Art Shop 144 Edgecliff Road Woollahra NSW opened 12 December 1976
* "Passion for Plastics" Peter Tully at Paraphernalia Gallery Melbourne , opened 24 April 1977 -see citation above to Pat von Wolff fashion editor of The Age in her article of 25 April 1977 called Plastic Fashion
* "Living Plastics" Jewellery by Peter Tully (and An Australian Dream Lounge by David McDiarmid ) Hogarth Galleries Paddington NSW 6–24 December 1977
* "New Works " by Peter Tully and David McDiarmid Hogarth Galleries Paddington NSW 11 November -1 December 1978
* "Urban Tribalwear" by Peter Tully Crafts Council of Australia 113 George St Sydney 22 November to 22 December 1980
* "Florescents " by Peter Tully Hieroglyphics Gallery 135 crown St East Sydney 3–17 December 1981
* "Solo Survey" Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery , Launceston , Tasmania. 1982 ( See solo survey linkage project Tasmanian School of Art UTAS )
* "Primitive Futures" by Peter Tully ( with David McDiarmid " New Work " ) Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery 20 May -16 June 1984
* "Treasures of the Last Future" Barry Stern Galleries Paddington NSW 1–23 December 1990
* "Urban Tribalwear and Beyond" Peter Tully retrospective for the Australian National Gallery (now
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
) in Canberra at the
Drill Hall Gallery
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and i ...
. Curated by John McPhee 6 July - 22 September 1991. The first retrospective by a living artist that the then ANG now NGA ever did.
Group exhibitions
* "An Exhibition of work by Homosexual and Lesbian Artists" 23–24 July 1978 ,
Watters Gallery
Watters Gallery (1964–2018) was a private art gallery in Riley Street Sydney, Australia, run by Frank Watters (1934 – May 2020) with his business partners and friends Geoffrey and Alex Legge. It was influential and well-known, hosting exhibit ...
, Sydney. The exhibition included a fundraiser for the 4th National Homosexual Conference to be held in August 1978 at Paddington Town Hall, Sydney NSW. Other artists included
David McDiarmid
David McDiarmid (1952–1995) was an artist, designer and political activist, recognised for his prominent and sustained artistic engagement in issues relating to gay male identity and HIV/AIDS. He is also known for his involvement in the gay libe ...
,
Vivienne Binns
Vivienne Joyce Binns (born 1940) is an Australian artist known for her contribution to the Women's Art Movement in Australia, her engagement with feminism in her artwork, and her active advocacy within community arts. She works predominantly in ...
, Frances Budden , Sally Colechin, Doug Erskine, Bill Morley and Robert Lawrie.
* "Art Clothes " Art Gallery of NSW ( AGNSW ) 20 December 1980 – 1 February 1981
* "Gay Mardi Gras Exhibition 1985 " Print Source Gallery Oxford St Darlinghurst NSW February -March 1985
* "Nine Artists " Barry Stern Gallery Glenmore Rd Paddington NSW 15 February-19 March 1992 ( for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras )
* "You Are Here " Martin Browne Fine Art 11 gay male artists for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival 6–28 February 1993 Curated by Scott Redford and Luke Roberts. Previously shown at
Institute of Modern Art
The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group an ...
(IMA) in Brisbane in November 1992. Artists were Peter Tully, David McDiarmid, Luke Roberts , Scott Redford, Leonard Brown , Peter Cooley, Brent Harris ,Ross Wallace, Hiram To, Matthew Jones and Bashir Baraki.
* "From Eltham to Memphis" Craft Victoria Gallery Melbourne VIC , 7 September 2000 to 14 October 2000.
* ''Dead Gay Artists'',
Tin Sheds Gallery
The Tin Sheds was the common name of the Sydney University Art Workshop was an Australian art workshop in Sydney, New South Wales, founded in 1969. Its name lives on in the Tin Sheds Gallery at the University of Sydney School of Architecture, ...
, 1–23 February 2002
Curator Robert Lake.
* Sydney Gay Mardi Gras Museum Exhibition to celebrate 35 years of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras , drawing on the extensive holdings of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (ALGA). At 94 Oxford St Darlinghurst NSW 2010 from 29 January 2013 to ?.February 2013.
* Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style,
National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
, 11 April–1 September 2013
Mix Tape 1980s: Appropriation, Subculture, Critical Style
/ref>
Collections
Tully's work is held in numerous collections, including:
* Australian Queer Archives
The Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) (formerly the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives - ALGA) is a community-based non-profit organisation committed to the collection, preservation and celebration of material reflecting the lives and experienc ...
, including personal papers, jewellery, designs, photographs, posters etc.
* National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...
, Canberra
* National Gallery of Victoria
The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and most visited art museum.
The NGV houses an encyclopedic art collection across two ...
, Melbourne
* Art Gallery of South Australia
The Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA), established as the National Gallery of South Australia in 1881, is located in Adelaide. It is the most significant visual arts museum in the Australian state of South Australia. It has a collection of ...
, Adelaide
* Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
* Newcastle Art Gallery (Newcastle Regional Art Gallery )
* Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
* State Library of Queensland, Brisbane
*The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Buil ...
References
Further reading
*Adamson, Glenn, and Jane Pavitt. ''Postmodernism: Style and Subversion, 1970-1990''. London: V & A, 2011.
*Gray, Sally. ''Friends, Fashion & Fabulousness: The Making of an Australian Style''. , 2017.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tully, Peter
1947 births
1992 deaths
Australian LGBT painters
Australian LGBT rights activists
Australian gay artists
20th-century Australian painters
20th-century Australian male artists
Australian male painters
Gay painters
20th-century Australian LGBT people
Australian people of Arab descent
Artists from Melbourne
AIDS-related deaths in France