Alex Greenwich, NSW Independent MP for Sydney, will launch Just Like You – Love Knows No Difference, at the Scratch Arts Space in Marrickville on Saturday 13 April at 3.30 pm.
“A celebration of ordinariness”, is how Piero Bassu describes the photographic exhibition he has devised in support of marriage equality in Australia. Featuring 15 couples and their friends who agreed to pose for photographers Marie-Angela Paino and Sarah Dixey, Just Like You depicts gay and lesbian relationships through moments in their everyday lives.
Piero says the exhibition’s message is strong because it is simple. Gay and lesbian couples lead similar lives and have similar aspirations to everyone else. “It’s about focussing on what is common to all of us as people,” Piero says. “We are used to thinking about diversity in terms of difference, and it’s important that differences should be celebrated. But we rarely see diversity celebrated in the context of similarity. We all have family and friends. We all pay bills. We all hate Mondays and love Fridays. We make breakfast, walk the dog, enjoy going to the pub or barbequing with friends.”
Piero says he hopes the message will strike a chord with people beyond the gay community who may not yet have made up their mind what they think of gay marriage, or perhaps haven’t really begun to think. “We should not just say YES to marriage equality, for us and for the people in our lives. We should say YES for the people we have not met yet – for the son or granddaughter that we’ll love don’t want to suffer discrimination and inequality when they grow up.”
Among the couples that participated in the project are Jonny Bastin and his partner Alan Bright: “We live in Sydney with our Jack Russell dog Lottie. We like soccer and support Sydney FC.”
Naureen and Carly met in a dingy nightclub that neither of them had been to before or since. After 12 months together they went backpacking around South America. “After two-and-a-half years together, we enjoy spending nights in eating Doritos and salsa and watching Law and Order,” says Carly.
Bern Foley and her partner Suz Duffy were photographed at the park with their baby daughter Ruby: “We had Ruby in December 2011, and it was the most amazing day ever,” Bern says. “Ruby is the greatest thing that has ever happened to us. She is almost walking and she loves Dorothy The Dinosaur.”
Not all the couples depicted in Just Like You are gay. Dani Gleeson is straight. She posed with her gay friend Ethan Phipps: “I hope when my friend Ethan meets that special someone, that he will have the right to get married just like me,” she says.
Piero Bassu and his partner David Chappell have been together for five years. They met in London playing volleyball and have been living in Australia since November 2010. They are engaged to be married and would like to be able to do so under Australian law.
“I am an Italian man who came to Australia for a life of possibilities and adventure,” Piero says. “The campaign that is going on now in Australia is part of an equality wave that started way back in 1989 when Denmark became the first country to approve gay marriages. By showing the same kind of leadership, Australia can be THAT country for the Asia Pacific region.”
Just Like You – Love Knows No Difference is a completely not-for-profit community project aimed at raising awareness of marriage equality. The exhibition runs at Scratch Arts Space, Marrickville.
Details:
- Times: 11 April to 21 April, gallery hours 12pm-5pm Thursday to Sunday
- Address: 67 Sydenham Road Marrickville NSW 2204
- Alex officially opens on Saturday 13 April at 3.30 pm