IMAGES of singer Will Young and Olympic diver Tom Daley have gone on display at the National Portrait Gallery in an exhibition on the advances in gay rights.
The show, Speak its Name!, is part of a series of events marking the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales in 1967.
Portraits of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen and journalist Isabella Blow, as well as actors Ben Whishaw and Saffron Burrows and MP Angela Eagle are on display, accompanied by quotations from the sitters about their experiences of revealing their sexuality.
The show is the first in a year-long series of events at the gallery, entitled I Am Me, which explore sexuality, gender, art and identity.
Actor Simon Callow has penned the introduction to a book accompanying the exhibition.
Portraits have been taken out of the gallery archive for the show, to be accompanied by previously published quotations.
Gallery director Dr Nicholas Cullinan said: “We are proud to be marking the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in this country with a … series of displays and events which survey the ongoing and ever-more relevant discussion over identity, tolerance and equality from a panoramic and international perspective.”
Curator Christopher Tinker said: “Speak its Name! highlights the enormous advances in gay rights over recent decades and assesses the continuing fight for equality for all.”
The season continues in February with a display on the 1980s London art and club scene of Leigh Bowery, Derek Jarman, Ossie Clark and Gilbert & George.
