You can tell a lot about a man by the way he wears his hanky…
A form of communication developed in the 1970s for gay men to signal their intentions, fetishes, desires and identity to potential sexual partners by wearing varied colour handkerchiefs. Investigating, exploring and inspired by the gay subcultures of ‘hanky codes’, John Tsiavis and Nik Dimopoulos teamed up to create the promotional artwork for the underground parties in Melbourne, Australia called TROUGH X.
Nik and John combined their experiences as art director/graphic designer and photographer/director to create images that reference film, advertising, typography, and art history.
John Tsiavis's and Nik Dimopoulos's expressionistic photographs exploring contemporary masculinity and queer identity are coolly cerebral in their layered symbolism and controlled choreography, and equally hot in the febrile skin sensitivity they strongly evoke. They are dynamic and bold images of queer male identity."
Dr Christopher Chapman, Curator, National Portrait Gallery
Cast:John Tsiavis
Tags:TROUGH X, John Tsiavis, Photography, gay, queer film, party promotion, JOHN Party, homo, CODE BEIGE, Melbourne parties and hanky code