![Image: The Huxleys, [A Star is Born], 2022. Courtesy the artists. Commissioned by Photo Australia and the City of Melbourne.](https://photo.org.au/api/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Starfish-Sunworship-Web-200x133.jpg "Starfish-Sunworship-Web")
Image: The Huxleys, A Star is Born, 2022. Courtesy the artists. Commissioned by Photo Australia and the City of Melbourne.
Q&A with The Huxleys
18.4.22
The Huxleys
Hello, please start by telling us something about yourself that is not in your bio.
We adore The Golden Girls
Can you explain your artistic processes to us (research, methods, processes, rituals, etc)? Has this changed over time?
We spend so much of our time absorbing art. Reading books, listening to music, watching films and live performances. Art feeds us and inspires us. We find music is really important when we are making costumes, or photographing our work. It gives us a mood and an energy in the work. We often sketch and draw out ideas and shapes, however basic these often lead to new costumes and new images. Our work always starts as a visual. We make all the elements and then photograph or video the final creation. Once we have the visual it can then become a live performance. We call our process from stage to page. Over time we’ve gotten more audacious and more ridiculous. We don’t do practical.
![Image: The Huxleys, [A Coral Singer], 2022. Courtesy the artists. Commissioned by Photo Australia and the City of Melbourne.](https://photo.org.au/api/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/NUDIBRANCH-SINGS-200x133.jpg "NUDIBRANCH SINGS")
Image: The Huxleys, ‘A ‘Coral Singer', 2022. Courtesy the artists. Commissioned by Photo Australia and the City of Melbourne.
As artists/creatives, where do you draw inspiration for your work from?
We draw inspiration from art and art history. We are great lovers of all art forms and will spend as much time as possible experiencing and immersing ourselves in art. Music, Performance, Movies, Visual art. It all inspires us. We also turn to nature for inspiration. It is so alive and full of unique beauty. The colours in nature can be so incredible and so lurid.
What has been the most rewarding project you have worked on so far?
We are so proud of our series ‘Places or Worship’ which was shown last year at the CCP. It was a culmination of several years of work and showcased our photography, costume, video and performance skills. We paid homage to the beauty and isolation of the natural world. And evoked a feeling of what it is like to stand out in the world.
![Image: The Huxleys, from the series [Places of Worship]. Courtesy the artist.](https://photo.org.au/api/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Places-of-Worship_TheHuxleys_resized-200x197.jpg "Places of Worship_TheHuxleys_resized")
Image: The Huxleys, from the series Places of Worship. Courtesy the artist.
What led you to photography (rather than any other artforms)?
Photography was what led us to dream of a brighter future. Growing up as queer kids not fitting in. It was the images of people like Leigh Bowery, David Bowie, Grace Jones and the works of Cindy Sherman that gave us a vision of a more exotic and glamorous life. These images glimpsed in magazines and books were life changing. Photography allows us to capture and distill all the elements of art that we love into one work. Costume, makeup, performance. It is a great form for escapism.
When you are not working what do you enjoy doing most?
We love dancing. Playing disco music and dreaming of wild glamour.
Image: The Huxleys, Sylvester, 2022. Courtesy the artist.
What do you hope your legacy will be?
That too much is never enough.
What advice would you give to your 15 year-old self?
That all the things society tells you are wrong with you will be the things that make you when you grow up.