Queer stories… and queer silences

Queer: Stories from the NGV Collection is an exhibition with lofty goals which is limited by the gallery’s own history. The 400 pieces in the exhibit are sourced entirely from the
National Gallery of Victoria’s (NGV) own collection, and the result is expansive. Taking my time walking through it, I spent nearly three hours exploring every room, and still needed a second visit to see everything. The exhibition utilises this huge array of material – paintings, sculptures, textiles, audio-visual displays, photographs, teapots and more – to explore the facets and forms of queerness through a series of themed rooms. There is a freedom in this approach: using the pre-existing collection to explore this theme creates a fascinating array of diverse works. However, the restrictions it creates are equally clear. The exhibit seems at some points to be attempting to cover everything, and yet it is marked by silences that come from sourcing queer history only from an institution that has its own complicated history of the representation of marginalised voices.

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