break the binaries

18.02.23 - 17.06.23

Bend, blend, blur or break society’s binary codes as part of BREAK THE BINARIES.

Installations from local and international artists will present a playful and kaleidoscopic view of identity and genders, and their relationship with science, technology, culture, race, sexuality and creativity. With collaboration at its heart, this exhibition will create connections and conversation through personal perspectives, interdisciplinary creative practice and research at The University of Melbourne. 

As with all Science Gallery Melbourne exhibitions, BREAK THE BINARIES has been developed together with Curatorial Panel of young people and an Expert Advisory Group, and features a range of interdisciplinary projects across video, sound, sculpture and multimedia. Find out more about them below.

BREAK THE BINARIES builds on GENDERS: Shaping and Breaking the Binary, which took place at Science Gallery London, King’s College London. It will feature key UK artists and collectives including Adham Faramawy and Sadé Mica, whose works boldly reflect a new wave of hybrid creative practice spanning moving image, sound, sculptural installation, advocating for empowerment and social change. 

Supported by the UK/Australia Season Patrons Board, the British Council and the Australian Government as part of the UK/Australia Season, in collaboration with Science Gallery London, Kings College London. 

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  • Eliki Reade (they/them) is an Interdependent Producer, artist, and community arts facilitator of kailoma-Fijian (Fijian/European) heritage. Eliki is intrigued by many forms of storytelling and the ways it is creatively embodied, engaging with work that centres the practice as a form of liberation, analysis and connection.

    Nevo Zisin (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Jewish writer, performer, activist and public speaker based in Naarm/Birraranga/Melbourne. They run workshops in schools and professional development training in workplaces around transgender identities. Author of award-winning Finding Nevo (2017), a memoir on gender transition and The Pronoun Lowdown (2021) a useful guidebook on all things related to pronouns.

    Teaka Williams (she/they) is a freelance creative, part time artist and full time pop culture consumer. A proud Gunditjmara woman, she is always adding to her ever-growing portfolio of design skills. Avid video game player and professional day dreamer, in her spare time you’ll find her streaming over on twitch or writing poetry with an iced beverage.

    Ebony Ciarrocchi (she/her) is a full-time PhD student and part-time show pony. She spends a large proportion of her daylight hours researching marsupial reproduction at the University of Melbourne, but when the sun is down, you can find her deeply immersed in the queer performance world; dancing with the Real Hot Bitches 80s dance troupe, teaching dance classes or on stage as her drag king alter ego, Basil Bush.

    Elena/Eli McGannon (they/them) is a photographic artist, director, producer, game master and bowerbird from Naarm. Portraiture, form and movement are heavily intertwined with their work, and they recently completed their 20th year at the Stonnington School of Dance after receiving their Robert Somers Perpetual Trophy. 

    Tilly Boleyn (she/her) is a massive nerd, curious about the world and everything in it. She is a collaborative creature at heart and heads the curatorial team at Science Gallery with a mixture of organisation, chaos, humour and sassy backtalk. She loves connecting people, making space for thought, and challenging people to back up their opinions in an imagined recreation of Mad Max Thunderdome.

    Dr Ryan Jefferies  (he/they) is Director, Science Gallery Melbourne and proudly part of the LGBTIQ+ spectrum of life. Ryan is a passionate advocate of the blurred intersections between science and arts, and promoting social change through the sharing of knowledge and creativity.  Formerly a biomedical scientist, he has curated major interdisciplinary exhibitions, festivals and residencies.

  • Dr Mohammad Taha (they/them) is a non-binary trans queer person of colour, advocate, scientist, engineer, reader, writer, and aspiring filmmaker. They use elements and phase-transition like LEGO to build smart materials to tackle climate-change and build the future of flexible electronics. To them gender is a make your own adventure kind of thing.

    Dr Hannah McCann (she/her) is a bisexual queer activist and Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the University of Melbourne. Her research in critical femininity studies focuses on queer femme LGBTQ+ communities, salons and beauty culture, and queer fangirls online. 

    Professor Dan Harris’ (they/them) research focuses on the intersection of creativity at both practice and policy levels; on cultural, sexual and gender diversities; and on performance and activism. They are committed to the power of collaborative creative practice and social justice research to inform social change. Harris is most widely known for their scholarship in creativity studies, affect theory and autoethnography.