My Generation is William Yang’s story of Sydney’s artistic community from the mid 1970s to 1980s. It weaves together stories about the personalities of Sydney’s artistic, bohemian and underground scenes. Presented in Yang’s unique performance style – using spoken word, image and live music – he retells the glamorous fashion events of Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson and their iconic label Flamingo Park, ‘the godmothers of Australiana’; the theatrical circle of the Patrick White, Robyn Nevin, Jim Sharman, Neil Armfield and Kate Fitzpatrick among others; the visual arts scene of Brett Whiteley and Martin Sharp; the strengthening of the Sydney gay and lesbian community and the flowering of the Sydney Mardi Gras. William documents a time he describes as “especially decadent… there were many colourful characters and parties were so much fun. It was in the days following women’s liberation, sexual liberation and gay and lesbian liberation so it was a time of great change.”

In 1977, when William Yang had his first solo exhibition, Sydneyphiles at the Australian Centre for Photography, it caused a sensation because of its frank depiction of the party and emerging gay scene. A book and exhibition Sydney Diary 1974-1984 followed, expanding the themes of Sydneyphiles. The performance work My Generation comes from this collection of photos. It was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery and performed at the opening of their new gallery in 2008. It was also part of Albury’s Hot House Theatre 2009 season.

William Yang is one of Australia's most internationally toured performance artists. In addition to his famed performance works (Sadness, Friends of Dorothy and China) William Yang has presented over 20 individual photographic exhibitions around the world. Yang was awarded International Photographer of the Year at the Higashigawa-cho International Photographic Festival, Japan in 1993 and in 1998 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of Queensland for his services to photography.

In 2007 he was the recipient of the Australian National University’s H.C.Coombs Fellowship. My Generation is part of Performance Space’s You Are Here season of performance, dance and installation exploring our place in the world, the landscapes in which we live and the times of our lives. My Generation is produced by Performing Lines.