WHAT?  Leigh Bowery!

WHERE?  Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG

WHEN?  Now until 31st August 

WHY GO?  For edgy punk vibes!  Dali’s surrealism feels positively tame alongside Bowery’s controversial performance ‘art’. 

His larger than life character is intimately examined from every angle, as an artist, fearless performer, club icon, even fashion designer (of sorts) in this exhibition designed to provoke diverse opinions. 

From the start in suburban Melbourne, when he declared that he "wanted to look like that weirdo on the street that you tell your mum about”,  to indeed becoming that weirdo who performed gender bending night-club acts culminating in an extreme ‘birth’ performance that has become the legendary benchmark for just how far to take performance art.  

Much of what went on back then would be ‘taboo’ today but seen in the context of a retrospective, it reveals an extraordinary character who used his body as a canvas. 

The most poignant images are simply snapshots of Bowery out of costume just hanging out with friends. 

From glossy images by Fergus Greer and Nick Knight and paintings by none other than Lucian Freud to film clips of Bowery’s collaborations with dance/choreographer Michael Clark, it’s a high octane romp through the Eighties. 

An interview from The Clothes Show (1988) with a fledgling Caryn Franklin taking tea with Bowery in Harrods is hilarious.  His soft spoken commentary is in total contrast to his crazy flamboyant costume, just one of the highlights in this weirdly charismatic show.  

IN THE KNOW  Fashion, Bowery style is on show.  Since the originals were trashed with ‘disco dirt’, his daring designs have been punctiliously remade and are accompanied by outrageous accessories like neck corsets designed by Mr Pearl, a key member of Bowery’s underground entourage. One thing’s for sure, M&S won’t be taking orders!