William Yang showcased his photographic memoir, Milestone, at QPAC for one inspiring night only as part of the 2025 Brisbane Festival. In Milestone, Yang looks back on 80 years of his life through an extensive catalogue of photos that capture more than a moment in time. It shows Australia’s history and the changes in the country’s culture.
Yang’s unique performance pieces, combining music, speech and photography, grew from the slide shows he used to make for his friends in the 1980s.
In his first official one-man show at Belvoir St Theatre in 1989, Yang presented The Face of Buddha. Since then, he has worked on the art form in 14 exhibits and has toured nationally multiple times.
Inspired by his 80th birthday two years ago, William Yang created his newest performance piece, which premiered in January as part of the Sydney Festival. It was also performed at Arts Centre Melbourne in February and will travel to Adelaide next month for OzAsia Festival.
To create Milestone, Yang worked alongside dramaturg and co-director Tessa Leong. Together, they skilfully selected and refined the images, working them seamlessly into the narrative. The amazing collection and storytelling work incredibly well, transporting the audience into Yang’s life for both the highs and lows.
Composer and pianist Elena Kats-Chernin has expertly translated the photos into enchanting music. She played her songs alongside the talented Camerata, Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, with Conductor Simon Bruckard leading the way to greatness.
Yang talks about his childhood growing up in the small town of Mareeba in Far North Queensland. It was there that he quickly realised that being Chinese in Australia in the 1950s was a curse. Despite his family’s best efforts to assimilate, he felt like he still stuck out like a sore thumb.
Yang presents photos of the rural environment and the town buildings on the theatre’s screen backdrop to complement his words. It’s later revealed that he was able to reconnect with his Chinese heritage, and the audience goes on that journey with him.
Famous for his lively photos depicting Sydney’s queer culture in the 1980s, Yang highlights the intense support and connection of the community. In high school, Yang thought that there had only been four gay people to ever exist: Oscar Wilde, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and himself. But moving to Sydney opened his eyes and gave him a new lens on life.
Yang documented the early years of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival as well as drag shows, concerts and parties. These pictures flick through the slideshow, accompanied by the engaging orchestral music, taking the audience back to a time when in-person social bonds reigned supreme.
Being photographed as a gay man was risky at the time, but it enabled the community to be seen. Yang describes the photos as their own form of activism. They’re full of life, movement and raw intensity that capture the subject’s personhood perfectly.
It’s wonderful to see Brisbane Festival promoting diverse voices and important stories, especially from an award-winning artist like William Yang. It is through this performance that the audience watches as the world changes through the perspective of someone who noticed it the most.
Until clocks can freeze or science can turn back time, photos are the closest alternative. In William Yang’s Milestone, the audience observes as he blossoms from discomfort and grows into his identity.
Milestone by William Yang was held on 9 September for one night only as part of 2025 Brisbane Festival.
Tickets for Milestone at OzAsia Festival: https://ozasia.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au/whats-on/milestone
Website: https://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/events/milestone
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/williamyang51/ and https://www.instagram.com/brisbanefestival/
Hero image: Courtesy of Sydney Festival. Photo by Victor Frankowski
