This exhibition features material from Duke’s time in Brighton and his return to Melbourne in early 1973, where he became a member of Collective Effort Press (est. 1978). 31 July–11 August
JAS H. DUKE: Back from Brighton
Curated by Victoria Perin
Featuring loans from the Estate of Jeff Keen, UK
Dates: 31 July – 11 August 2023
Celebration: Thursday 3 August 5-7pm
‘I started performing as a timid person with a stutter but the spirit of the times soon converted me into a bellowing bull.’ Jas H. Duke, Poems of war and peace (Melbourne: Collective effort press, 1988), p.iv.
In the late 1960s, Melbourne poet Jas H Duke become a movie star. He had left home and settled in Brighton, an anarchist hotspot. He performed in the underground films of his neighbour, the cult UK filmmaker Jeff Keen. This exhibition features material from Duke’s time in Brighton and his return to Melbourne in early 1973, where he became a member of Collective Effort Press (est. 1978). This is the story of how Duke became one of this country’s most astonishing sound poets, the bellowing bull this city needed.
This exhibition would like to acknowledge the Estate of Jas H. Duke, Melbourne.