Karpinski, Barbarella

 

Barbarella Karpinski

Barbarella Karpinski grew up in Sydney. In this interview, they talk about their involvement in the Drop the Charges protest at Taylor Square in 1978, where they were violently arrested, and the subsequent court case. At East Sydney Technical College (now National Art School), NSW University, Swinburne Film and Television School, Victoria College of the Arts, N.I.D.A, University of Technology, Sydney, Barbarella studied filmmaking, painting, performance art and journalism.

They became involved in Wicked Women (1990-1991) and performed at The Performance Space in 1996 -1998 for cLUB bENT. They describe their performances in the Wicked Women competitions, their work at Club Eros, the BDSM kinky scene, the GLBTIQ striptease scene. Barbarella wrote a creative doctoral thesis on representations on queer sex work and marginalised sub-cultures.

Photo: Fiona McGregor

 

Oral history recordings

 

Automated transcripts of our oral history interviews are available to researchers on request. For access, please contact us, stating the name of the interviewee, date of interview, and your purpose of use.

KPride History GroupHolocaust, International Workers of the World, Homosexuality, coming out, Sydney University, Hoyts, Abercrombie Street, Drop the Charges, Central Police Station, Sydney Morning Herald, Police, Mardi Gras, court cases, Tony McDonald, Laura Mulvey, Wicked Women, Twin Peaks, Mistressing, Jean Genet, Miss Wicked Competition, Imperial Hotel, Club Eros, Nina Hagen, BDSM, Eleanor Jeffries, Gay marriage plebiscite, Polyamory, Scarlet, The Debbies, TAP Gallery, Club bENT, Femme Guild, Heather Grayson, Catherine Farga, Bruce Notley Smith, Steve Warren, Gay Egg, Andrew Scipione, Superintendent Anthony Crandell, Mardi Gras 78er, Flipside of Flamboyance