Glenn Walls – SUPER CREATIVE GRID

Between the 1970s and early 2000s, before the surge in queer visibility in Sydney, non-normative gender and sexual communities formed connections at hidden queer sites to navigate heteropatriarchal constraints. These sites, once vital hubs for queer life, became targets of violent acts, leading to 88 tragic murders. Utilising existing photographs, found in various LGBTQI+ publications and news sites, these drawings examine the series of ongoing artworks titled Massacre – Bodies That Matter, 2018/2026, spotlighting the violence faced by marginalised queers seeking acknowledgement, where societal condemnation and institutional neglect led to acts of violence. This inquiry contributes to understanding the historical and spatial dimensions of violence against LGBTQI+ individuals, calling for a rethink of modern drawing conventions to reveal the complexities of identity and sexuality.

Glenn Walls. Massacre – Location of the murder of Scott Johnson on the 8th December, 1988, at Blue Fish Point in North Head near Manly, Sydney, Australia. The area was known as a gay beat.

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026

Glenn Walls. Massacre – Location of the murder of Scott Johnson on the 8th December, 1988, at Blue Fish Point in North Head near Manly, Sydney, Australia. The area was known as a gay beat.

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026

Glenn Walls. Massacre – According to journalist Greg Callaghan, “The Bondi Boys were a large group of 30 youths aged 12–18. They’re linked mainly to deaths at Marks Park and called themselves PTK (“People that Kill”) and PSK (“Park Side Killers”)”, (Callaghan, 2021) as carved in the drawing’s tree

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026

Glenn Walls. Massacre – “It was December 10, 1988, when Scott’s naked body was found by two rock fishermen at the base of the cliff, near Blue Fish Point, just south of Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches. Police immediately deemed the death a suicide. Furthermore, as Scott’s clothes had been found neatly folded on the clifftop above, the death was considered a “ritual suicide” (Kontominas, 2017).

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026

Glenn Walls. Massacre: Madonna, a leading advocate for the LGBTQI+ community, was at her height when these hate crimes were taking place in Sydney.

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026

Glenn Walls. Massacre – “Marks Park, a grassy verge capping the headland and the concrete pathway skirting the cliff face, had been a gay beat – a place where homosexual men would socialise and hook up – since at least the late 1920s” (Callaghan, 2021)..

Drawing on Paper. 297 x 420 mm. 2026 (Incomplete)

References

Callaghan, G. (2021, October 1). ‘A willingness to write crimes off’: on the trail of the Bondi killers. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au/national/a-willingness-to-write-crimes-off-on-the-trail-of-the-bondi-killers-20210903-p58oo4.html

Davis, K. (2007). Bondi’s underbelly: the ‘gay gang murders’. QUEER SPACE: CENTRES AND PERIPHERIES, UTS. file:///Users/gfinley/Downloads/Bondis_underbelly_the_gay_gang_murders.pdf

Kontominas, B. (2017, November 30). Scott Johnson: Inside one brother’s 30-year fight to find the truth. ABC News Australia. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-30/scott-johnson-inside-brothers-fight-to-find-the-truth/9211466