‘In Case We Don’t Live Forever’ is a photographic archive of our existence, a celebration of resilience, survival and joy. With a carpe diem/live fast die young mentality this selection of images tells the stories of our existence. It presents itself as a queer utopia, a future for us to work towards, to protect.
J Davies is a multidisciplinary Takataapui artist respectfully doing mahi on stolen lands of The Kulin Nation in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). Through their ongoing archiving of contemporary queer existence J cultivates connection to community and culture whilst considering themes of identity, intimacy and neurodiversity. With a distinctly personal perspective J documents their own life behind-closed-doors, inviting audiences and collaborators to collectively contemplate the ways in which we view and value intimacy.
J Davies graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2017, formalising an expansive photographic practice that they have been undertaking since 2008. In 2022 they were featured in New Photographers as part of Photo2022 at James Makin Gallery and in the same year was awarded the World Centred Photography Practice award from RMIT, was shortlisted for the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize, and also the Incinerator Gallery’s Incinerator Award. In 2022 they published their first book Half of My Whole Life Was Just a Dream exploring the connectedness of consciousness and subconsciousness. Most recently, J has been included in Melbourne Now, 2023, with a major photographic installation.
Making waves in contemporary photography locally and abroad, J exhibited at the Hong Kong International Photo Festival in October 2023, and is presenting a major solo exhibition in 2024 as a part of Photo2024 at James Makin Gallery.
