Old Melbourne Gaol: Bending the Bars

Curated by Andrew Gaynor and the National Trust of Victoria, Bending the Bars is an exhibition that marks the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Victoria. Running as part of Midsumma 2021, the exhibition at Old Melbourne Gaol, is a celebration of the passing of the law and a commemoration of the actions and events that led to such a historically and socially significant reform.

The exhibition is located inside the Old Melbourne Gaol’s Watch House. Built in 1909 and ceasing operation in 1994, The Watch House was a building designed for short-term stays, a place where prisoners were brought in off the street for crimes such as public intoxication, theft, assault, and before it’s decriminalisation in 1981 in Victoria, homosexuality or “buggery”. In Australia, being gay was considered a crime punishable by death until 1949. It was then reduced to a twenty-year jail sentence before legislation finally passed in 1981 to decriminalise it completely. Defined loosely as an act of “gross indecency”, homosexuality was seen as a moral sickness that needed to be cured and eradicated from society. 

Bending the Bars showcases the timeline of the LGBTQI+ community’s fight to shift this cultural sentiment and decriminalise homosexuality. Highlighting key figures and events through text, images and artwork, the information is documented simply and informatively, and is a celebration of the groups and individuals who fought tirelessly for legislative change. 

Holding Bending the Bars in a space that is both a venue and an object is an integral part of this exhibition – reading about imprisonment whilst actually standing in a cell gives the work stronger resonance and adds energy to the experience. It is fascinating, chilling and eerie to see the prison in an unaltered state, as the building is amazingly well preserved. The prisoners’ original graffiti is still scrawled everywhere, their etchings still carved in the wooden benches, and even dusty footprints are still in tact on the walls and floors.

The harrowing conditions of the prison gives real insight into the grim reality of the criminal justice system and offers a glimpse into Australia’s dark past. To stand in a cell with the knowledge that a mere 40 years ago LGBTQI+ people were still being imprisoned for their sexual preferences is a hard-hitting and sobering experience. 

Bending the Bars is a unique exhibition experience that fascinates and informs. It commemorates how far we’ve come as a nation and, through the work of the LGBTQI+ community and it’s allies, inspires the message that there is always progress to be made in the fight for social and cultural equality.

A ticket to the exhibition includes access to The Watch House and the rest of the Old Melbourne Gaol, and is running until Sunday 16 May.