OBSERVER: William Yang and the MSO
William Yang has built a reputation as a social profile photographer but his presentation, Milestone, documents not just his life but the social changes that have occurred in Australia over the last 80 years. Born to Chinese parents, he has weathered the racism, lived in a variety of regional areas and become an advocate for the LGBTQI movement.
Original music composed by Elena Kats-Chernin and played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra punctuates Yang’s recounting of significant events in his life.
This is a perfect way of capturing the mood and tone of Yang’s experience.
And Yang’s life is intriguing touching as it does on pivotal changes in Australian culture.
Moreover, his wit is evident as he touches on the nature of family, his connection to the landscape, the role of photography and the break from traditional social roles and expectations.
Yang’s delivery is disarming and charming. It’s a form of storytelling. The narrative, however, is actually quite involved and the arc of the story segues between sometimes disparate elements all of which could be worthy of deeper examination.
But this is the story of his life so it is hard to leave anything out.
Yang’s pictures accompany his story ranging back to his childhood, his documentation of the emerging gay scene in Sydney and the personalities he has met on his life’s journey.
In all, the multi-media aspect provides points of connection enabling the audience to relate on a multiplicity of levels.
There is much in Milestone to encourage people to think about what makes us Australian and the aspects of our own lives that have parallels with the topics Yang touches upon.
Presented at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall as part of Asia TOPA.
Review by David McLean