Jenny Papalexandris 
Five Bells 
Being LGBT in Australia

In a country known as one of the most queer-friendly nations in the world, most Australians support LGBTI rights, federal laws protect queer people from discrimination, transgender Australians are recognized legally as their preferred gender, and the renown of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival has reached across its borders.



The eight visual narratives that make up award-winning Australian photographer Jenny Papalexandris’s intimate and thematically rich
Five Bells offers a celebration of queer life, giving the reader a visual portrait of everyday life among queer-identifying people, from joyful images of weddings and family gatherings to more contemplative portraits of rural youth and asylum seekers. In so doing, the book presents a series of neither caricatures nor stereotypes but of individuals—active agents in the universal quest for happiness, intimacy, fulfillment, respect, and a sense of belonging. This is the human face of the queer community in Australia, and these beautifully crafted and life-affirming photographs, in black-and-white and in color, show us the personal and psychological landscape of what it means to be part of a community that is as vibrant as it is diverse.

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Jenny Papalexandris is an award-winning visual artist currently based in Australia. She has exhibited in Australia and in the United States—including in New York City; Los Angeles; and Portland, Oregon—as well as in Spain and Italy.
Fiona Skyring is a writer and historian based in Sydney, Australia.