Fiona Clark's photos of New Zealand's LGBT culture were unseen for 30 years

By Wendy Syfret for I-D Vice, 18 July 2015

All photos by Fiona Clark

The photographer captured the country's queer community, but censorship meant she's only starting to get the credit she deserves.

In the 70s and 80s, Fiona Clark was one of the first photographers to shoot New Zealand's LGBT scene. She captured her friends at parties and in their homes, and her images were warm portraits of the city's cultural fringe. In many ways she's a contemporary of Carol Jerrems, Rennie Ellis, and Nan Goldin. But censorship and public outcry kept her from exhibiting much of her work. As a result, she never reached their levels of fame.

Rather than moving to New York or London to become an alternative art star, she returned home to Waitata. There she began documenting another community with the same dedication she gave her city friends.

30 years later, a new wave of fans have begun to discover and appreciate her work, and her photos are enjoying another life. Now she considers herself an artist activist, and focuses on environmental and social issues around her home. We called her up to talk about New Zealand in the 70s and 80s, and the art of shifting focus.

Hey Fiona, I feel like a lot of young New Zealanders see their culture as being pretty progressive. But what did the social climate feel like as a young person in the 70s and 80s?

I don't think it was as progressive as people think. I couldn't show the work I did publicly as a collection until 2004. It was as progressive as the homophobia that existed. Within institutions there was homophobia, and that restricted the way people worked. It was a reflection really, and some of it was really hard for me. Galleries told me I was unsellable. Although 42 years later, there is a new interest.

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