Pearlies 2

8 February - 5 March 2023

Ian Thomas, One in a million, 2023

Pearlies 2, by Ian Thomas, is inspired by the Pearly Kings and Queens of London whose rich history dates back to the Coster Kings, who managed London’s street traders from the 16th century wearing an informal uniform embellished with stripes of pearl buttons. In the 1870s, the first Pearly King, Henry Croft, appropriated this to a whole new level by sewing 30,000 pearl buttons onto a basic suit and hat which he wore while raising money to support his local community.

"The tradition lives on to this day with 30 Pearly royal families recognised in the capital, all devoted to charitable works with their status denoted by their pearly suits and accessories.

I love the transgressive act of the Pearlies – declaring themselves royalty, providing support for their communities because government does not, but most of all, for their couture-level embellishment of the most conservative uniform of heteronormativity – the black suit.

For the purposes of this work, I’ve chosen to read this class action as a queering of norms – taking the most humble of materials, multiple cheap pearly buttons, and converting the sad, camouflaging everyday suit into a spectacular camp showpiece.

For the new exhibition, I will be using this visual language to recreate protest banners and badges, beginning with the gay and lesbian rights movement which emerged in NSW in the 1970s. My initial reference is Coming Out in the 70s, an exhibition staged by the NSW State Library in 2021."