We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
William Yang / Australia b.1943 / Patrick White #1, living room, Martin Road 1988 / Gelatin silver photograph on paper / 45.6 x 36.4cm (comp.) / Purchased 1998. Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Grant / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art / © William Yang
William YangPatrick White #1, living room, Martin Road 1988
Not Currently on Display
While much of William Yang’s photography has documented his personal journey, his involvement in Sydney’s gay community and the AIDS epidemic, he has continued to photograph people from the arts community with whom he has been associated.
A well known figure from Sydney’s cultural milieu is the late Australian writer Patrick White who was also an assiduous art collector. This photograph was taken at Patrick White’s home in Martin Road, Centennial Park. The text with this image reads:
His black chair was placed in front of the Victor Rubin painting and here he would sit. Because of his osteoporosis his movement was limited. He had a mechanical device something like a stick with tongs where he could pick up things from the surrounding tables.
William Yang is a third-generation Chinese Australian whose grandparents migrated to Australia during the 1880s gold rush. He grew up at Dimbulah on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland and describes his upbringing as one in which his Chinese ethnicity was suppressed and denied.
Yang studied architecture at The University of Queensland, and in 1969 he moved to Sydney to become a playwright. He took up social photography as a way of making money and soon gained entry into the city’s theatrical and artistic circles. His photography during the 1980s and early 1990s documents the social and artistic life of Sydney.
In 1983, Yang met Yentsoon Tsai, a Chinese teacher from Taiwan. Their friendship led Yang on a quest to discover his Chinese culture and heritage. He changed his name from the anglicised ‘Young’ to ‘Yang’, and he began researching his family history.