POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'Mary Don't Ask' costume by Peter Tully

Object No. 86/1189

‘Mary Don’t Ask’ is a fluorescent costume comprising a vinyl coat and pants, skirt and capes with multiple necklaces and other accessories, including a hat made from a lampshade, all generously adorned with found objects. It is, arguably, the most ambitious work made by the artist Peter Tully for his solo exhibition ‘Primitive Futures’ held at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, in 1984. One of two complete costumes displayed, Tully’s exhibition, which included jewellery, garments, accessories, lamps, and postcards, was described by art and cultural historian Sally Gray as ‘typical of the audacious aesthetics and humour he brought to his hybrid creative practice, which was simultaneously jewellery, sculpture, installation, and gay political statement.’ [1] Tully began making jewellery and party costumes in Melbourne in the late 1960s. He later studied jewellery design in Sydney, where he later moved, and garnered a following amongst collectors for his use of bold colour and non-precious materials, and his eclectic visual references—including gay iconography and Australiana motifs. [2] From the 1970s onwards, Tully's creative endeavours were influenced by his significant time spent abroad. He lived and travelled throughout Papua New Guinea, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe where he collected feathers, beads, and textiles and inspiration for his future work. Between 1979-80 he lived in New York where the ambience of the city’s gay scene particularly the Paradise Garage dance club further stimulated the impetus for creating a visual identity for his style of adornment, which he dubbed 'Urban Tribalwear'. [3] ‘The gay community in Sydney was coming together with a political identity, and I thought along with a political identity there should be a cultural identity … There were clubs opening and great parties and people were into gay books and gay novels and Dennis Altman wrote his book and there was a great sense of liberation reaching a peak in Sydney and huge numbers coming out of the closet … There was suddenly a community of thousands of people – who all needed jewellery … to wear to parties.’ [4] From 1982 to 1986, Tully was appointed as the inaugural artistic director of the Sydney Gay (and Lesbian) Mardi Gras (SGLMG). ‘Peter Tully contributed massively to the transformation of Mardi Gras from a protest march into a cultural event. The SGLMG timeline calls him “a huge influence in the early Mardi Gras with his creative flair, building and shaping the visual spectacle of the Parade.” Or as William Yang said, “He invented it, because he had such a vision.”’ [5] In the ‘Primitive Futures’ exhibition brochure, George Alexander wrote, ‘The extraordinary clothing- assemblages recall the deep influence of the ceremonial costumes and artefacts of the tribal cultures of Africa, Asia and South America. Out of our own highly-capitalised First World products, like bri-nylon acetate, neon paints, rubber, fake fur, luminous films, polyethylene, industrial safety materials, and the flood of kitsch out of the supermarkets and toy shops, Peter Tully creates powerful charms and fetishistic totems, more traditionally made from animal pelts and teeth, palm fronds, feathers, chewing sticks, and twisted copper rings.’ [6] Describing his work, Tully said ‘It’s all about colour. If I could explain it all — the particular philosophies and emotions in it — I wouldn’t be doing it.’ [7] Roger Leong, Senior Curator, 2023 References 1. Sally Gray, 'Tully, Peter Craig (1947–1992)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2016, accessed 7 August 2023. 2. Sally Gray (2016). 3. Sally Gray (2016). 4. David Leser, ‘Farewell to an Arty Party Boy’, HQ Magazine, Summer 1992/93. 5. Destiny Rogers, 'Birthdays: Peter Tully, pioneering Mardi Gras artistic director', qnews.com.au, 17 December 2022, accessed online 7 August 2023. 6. George Alexander, Essay, ‘Primitive Futures’, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 20 May-16 June 1984, page 3. 7. Anna Maria Dell'Oso and Susan Hely, ‘Just add your body to create a work of art’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 January 1982, republished online 29 December 2021, accessed 7 August 2023.