Tim Walker's 'Fairyland' at National Portrait Gallery Chronicles Queer Britain
The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting Tim Walker's exhibition 'Fairyland: Love and Legends,' which presents photographic portraits of prominent figures from the queer community. This initiative was inspired by a plaque Walker discovered, commemorating Britain's first gay rights demonstration on 27 November 1970, coinciding with his birth. The demonstration, organized by the Gay Liberation Front, occurred after the arrest of Louis Eakes. Featured in the exhibition are activists such as Ted Brown, Lisa Power, and Andrew Lumsden, along with well-known personalities like Peter Tatchell and Ian McKellen. The history of AIDS is represented through nurse Jane Bruton and former patient Tony Whitehead. The exhibition concludes with an 18-plus room showcasing explicit imagery. Walker has collaborated with stars like Madonna and Rihanna in the past.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Fairyland: Love and Legends' opens at the National Portrait Gallery in London
- Genesis was a plaque in Highbury Fields marking Britain's first gay rights demonstration on 27 November 1970, Walker's birth date
- Louis Eakes was arrested for importuning following a 'pretty police' entrapment
- Gay Liberation Front organized the protest
- Portraits include Ted Brown, Lisa Power, Andrew Lumsden, Peter Tatchell, Lady Phyll, Sue Sanders, Ian McKellen, Troye Sivan, Chappell Roan, Russell T Davies, Sunil Gupta, and Graham McKerrow
- Graham McKerrow holds a November 1982 Capital Gay newspaper with headline 'US disease hits London'
- Nurse Jane Bruton depicted with former patient Tony Whitehead and professor Jonathan Weber
- National Portrait Gallery relegated erotic imagery to an 18-plus room
Entities
Artists
- Tim Walker
- Louis Eakes
- Ted Brown
- Lisa Power
- Andrew Lumsden
- Peter Tatchell
- Phyllis Opoku-Gyimah
- Lady Phyll
- Sue Sanders
- Ian McKellen
- Troye Sivan
- Chappell Roan
- Russell T Davies
- Sunil Gupta
- Graham McKerrow
- Michael Mason
- Jane Bruton
- Tony Whitehead
- Jonathan Weber
- Norman Fowler
- Hans Holbein the Younger
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Derek Jarman
- Marc Almond
- Irving Penn
- Patrick Demarchelier
- Richard Avedon
- Kate Moss
- Lady Gaga
- Björk
- Frank Ocean
- Rihanna
- Rocki
- Madonna
- Guy Ritchie
- Cecil Beaton
- Denton Welch
- Josh Silver
- Ben Whishaw
- Elton John
- Holly Johnson
- Jimmy Sommerville
- Shon Faye
- David Hoyle
- Honey Dijon
- Grace Coddington
- Susanna Brown
- Shona Heath
- Nicholas Hilliard
- Olivette Cole-Wilson
- Blackbird
- Isaac Julien
- Tom Robinson
- Caroline Paige
- Gilli Salvat
- James Ivory
- Sarah Waters
- Jane Cholmeley
- Jimmy Somerville
- Karlheinz Weinberger
- Jean Paul Gaultier
- Michaela Stark
- Paul O'Grady
- Midgitte Bardot
- Alan Carr
- Sue Perkins
- Ncuti Gatwa
- Hunter Schafer
- Fiona Shaw
- Joe Sweeney
- Matthew Keller
- Harry Keita
- Bolly Illusion
- James Corbin
- Oliver-Bijan Daryoush
- Jack Newman
- Yos Clark
- Joseph O'Rourke
- Francis Lee
- Edward Carpenter
- Aphra Barwick
- Jo Barwick
- Siobhan Fahey
- Emily Witham
- Maartje Convens
- Marin Céleste
- Alex Gorey
- Matías Montes
- Yannis Tsarouchis
- Julian Clary
- Harry Browse
- Rae Elias
- Liam Elias
- Holbein the Younger
- Boy George
- Travis Alabanza
- Joelle Taylor
Institutions
- National Portrait Gallery
- Gay Liberation Front
- Young Liberals
- Capital Gay
- Channel 4
- Exeter Art College
- Charterhouse
- Wallace Collection
- W magazine
- American Vogue
- The Guardian
- Vogue
- Vanity Fair
- W
- Stonewall
- Silver Moon Women's Bookshop
- designboom
- SolidNature
- i-D
- Artlyst
Locations
- London
- Highbury Fields
- Shoreditch
- Brixton
- Guildford
- New York
- Paris
- Ashcombe
- Britain
- United States
- United Kingdom
- England
- East Sussex
- Hertfordshire