“Tender to those I love and respect”
Stone Butch Blues, 1993, Leslie Feinberg

Sophie and I bring to you our love of dykery, our special interests of queer history and references to our bible - Stone Butch Blues. Flagrant Dykery is a collaborative collection delving into the complex and exposed experience of living in a cishet patriarchal world, with an ode to those before us, around us and our futures.

We draw from the works of Leslie Feinberg and collections of lesbian/queer media (ranging from the 80s to the present day). We seek to highlight the euphoria in blatant expressions of gender and sexuality (or lack thereof) that come from donning clothing and specifically lesbian-coded fashion that is both obvious and hidden. We explore this through re-created everyday historic to present dyke wardrobe staples using denim, cord, and leather. These fabrics are all hardy and long wearing, like our dyke histories.

Something we wish to be noted is our commitment to sourcing second hand materials and textiles, drawing from our own wardrobes as well as gifted clothing and op shops and upholstery business scraps.

Juxtaposing not only the “feminine” techniques of work against our chosen base materials (often found in and perceived as “masculine”), but also the masc/butch identity against the intricacies of our shared crafts. Within this array of garments, each individual piece is reflective of a multitude of aesthetics, symbols, text and flagging strategies (Hanky code being central).

Relevant are the long expressed identities of those who came before, and those with us now in the present. We seek to continue the tradition of refusing what is expected, defending the individual's right to be complex, flagrant and dykey.

We are nothing without the dykes before us.

This exhibition is incredibly personal to us as dykes with a love of sewing, embroidery and leather. We can’t wait to show you what we made, we hope you enjoy it as much as we did creating every piece!!

Where: Old Bar Gallery
Open every day 3-8 pm

When: November 12th - 24th

Opening event: 12th November 6-10:30 pm
Closing event: 24th November 6-10:30 pm