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Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometimes controversial.
Based in London for much of his adult life, he was a model and muse for the English painter Lucian Freud. Bowery's friend and fellow performer Boy George said he saw Bowery's performances a number of times, and that they "never ceased to impress or revolt."
Bowery was born and raised in Sunshine, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. From an early age, he studied music, played piano, and went on to study fashion and design at RMIT for a year. He moved to London in 1980, saying, "I was so itchy to see new things and to see the world, that I just left."
Bowery became part of the London club scene. He became a figure in the underground clubs of London and New York, as well as in art and fashion circles. He attracted attention by wearing outlandish and creative outfits, which he made himself. He became friends and flatmates with artist Gary Barnes (known as "Trojan") and David Walls. Bowery created costumes for them to wear, and the trio became known in the clubs as the "Three Kings". Bowery appeared in magazines and on television, including commercials for Pepe Jeans and Rifat Ozbek.[citation needed]
In 2005, the National Portrait Gallery of Australia acquired a portrait of Bowery in his fur coat by the photographer David Gwinnutt. In 2007, the National Portrait Gallery in London purchased Gwinnutt's portrait of Bowery and Trojan (Barnes), which also appears in the Violette Editions book.[citation needed]
Bowery was a club promoter, and created the club Taboo at Maximus in Leicester Square with promoter Tony Gordon in 1985. Taboo became "the place to be" with long queues. Drugs, particularly ecstasy, became a part of the dancing scene for the attendees. The club defied sexual convention, embraced "polysexualism", and played unexpected song selections. The DJs were Jeffrey Hinton, Rachel Auburn and Mark Lawrence. Regular guests included Boy George, George Michael, John Galliano, Judy Blame, Bodymap, Michael Clark, John Maybury, Cerith Wyn Evans. Taboo lasted 18 months and closed in 1986.
As a fashion designer, Bowery had several shows exhibiting his collections in London, New York and Tokyo. His work contained wildly creative costumes, makeup, wigs and headgear, all of which combined to be striking and often kitschy. He also designed costumes for the Michael Clark Dance Company. When that company performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1987, Bowery won a Bessie Award for his work on No Fire Escape in Hell.
As a performance artist, Bowery enjoyed creating the costumes, and often shocking audiences. Working alongside Michael Clark, he would often have solo scenes in many of Clark's shows.[citation needed]
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Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery's performances featured striking costumes and make-up and were conceptual, flamboyant, outlandish, and sometimes controversial.
Based in London for much of his adult life, he was a model and muse for the English painter Lucian Freud. Bowery's friend and fellow performer Boy George said he saw Bowery's performances a number of times, and that they "never ceased to impress or revolt."
Bowery was born and raised in Sunshine, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. From an early age, he studied music, played piano, and went on to study fashion and design at RMIT for a year. He moved to London in 1980, saying, "I was so itchy to see new things and to see the world, that I just left."
Bowery became part of the London club scene. He became a figure in the underground clubs of London and New York, as well as in art and fashion circles. He attracted attention by wearing outlandish and creative outfits, which he made himself. He became friends and flatmates with artist Gary Barnes (known as "Trojan") and David Walls. Bowery created costumes for them to wear, and the trio became known in the clubs as the "Three Kings". Bowery appeared in magazines and on television, including commercials for Pepe Jeans and Rifat Ozbek.[citation needed]
In 2005, the National Portrait Gallery of Australia acquired a portrait of Bowery in his fur coat by the photographer David Gwinnutt. In 2007, the National Portrait Gallery in London purchased Gwinnutt's portrait of Bowery and Trojan (Barnes), which also appears in the Violette Editions book.[citation needed]
Bowery was a club promoter, and created the club Taboo at Maximus in Leicester Square with promoter Tony Gordon in 1985. Taboo became "the place to be" with long queues. Drugs, particularly ecstasy, became a part of the dancing scene for the attendees. The club defied sexual convention, embraced "polysexualism", and played unexpected song selections. The DJs were Jeffrey Hinton, Rachel Auburn and Mark Lawrence. Regular guests included Boy George, George Michael, John Galliano, Judy Blame, Bodymap, Michael Clark, John Maybury, Cerith Wyn Evans. Taboo lasted 18 months and closed in 1986.
As a fashion designer, Bowery had several shows exhibiting his collections in London, New York and Tokyo. His work contained wildly creative costumes, makeup, wigs and headgear, all of which combined to be striking and often kitschy. He also designed costumes for the Michael Clark Dance Company. When that company performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1987, Bowery won a Bessie Award for his work on No Fire Escape in Hell.
As a performance artist, Bowery enjoyed creating the costumes, and often shocking audiences. Working alongside Michael Clark, he would often have solo scenes in many of Clark's shows.[citation needed]