Author(s): David McDiarmid

Photography & Art | Australian/Aotearoa

'My priority as an artist has always been to record and celebrate our lives ¿ from camp to gay to queer ... To bang the tribal drums of the jungle telegraph - "I'm here, girlfriend; what's new?" ' David McDiarmid, 'A short history of facial hair', 1993 David McDiarmid: When This You See Remember Me brings together, for the first time, selected scholarly and personal accounts of the life and work of this pioneering figure in the visual articulation of a gay male political sensibility. Lavishly illustrated, the volume features McDiarmid's groundbreaking gay liberation work in 1970s Sydney, his first creative responses to AIDS in New York in the 1980s and his luminous affirmations of courage and defiance during the 1990s. The history of McDiarmid's eventful life is foregrounded by the sumptuous visuality of his pattern and decoration, text and calligraphy, fierce humour, and visceral pleasure in materials. Unprecedented in scope, this book presents an in-depth look at McDiarmid's career. Features texts by thirteen celebrated authors, artists and academics, including Dr Ted Gott, Brad Haylock, John McPhee, Dr Nikos Pantazopoulos and Jason Smith, among others. Published to coincide with the exhibition to be held at The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square, 9 May - 31 August 2014.