Sunil Gupta: The New Pre-Raphaelites

• Laura Castagnini

The New Pre-Raphaelites is a rare opportunity to see an exhibition by a father of gay photography, Sunil Gupta. It is the first solo exhibition in Australia by the Delhi-born, London-based artist, curator, and activist, who has been at the forefront of gay liberation movements since the 1970s. Over the past four decades Gupta has captured scenes of queer life that have continued to gain in socio-historic importance over time. His work ranges from the iconic series Christopher Street (1976), which documented gay men cruising the streets of New York City, to Pretended Family Relationships (1987–88), which responded to the UK’s notorious “Clause 28” forbidding the representation of homosexual relationships in public media, to From Here to Eternity (1999), which captured the artist’s own experience living with HIV/AIDS. Whether shot in the streets or the bedroom, Gupta’s work is always deeply personal. He draws from his own circle of friends, lovers, and broader community to make visible people that are struggling for recognition, acceptance, and—in many cases—the decriminalisation of their actions.