The concept of capturing Leigh Bowery's artistic essence within traditional gallery walls seems almost impossible. Unlike conventional artists who create physical objects, Bowery transformed himself into living art that defied easy categorization, blending performance art, fashion design, and dance into something entirely unique. The current exhibition "Leigh Bowery!" at Tate Modern, curated by Fiontán Moran, manages to communicate the visceral creativity of Bowery's life and work through bold curatorial choices while guiding visitors chronologically through his key periods and themes.
Since Bowery himself was the artwork, the exhibition spreads his legacy across multiple formats including intimate photographs captured in clubs during moments of bodily transgression, empty shells of his garments (which he seemed to inhabit rather than simply wear), magazine clippings, and video appearances. During his lifetime from 1961 to 1994, few of these materials existed in gallery contexts - they were part of his social world, lived out primarily in nightclubs, on streets, and during performances.
The exhibition recreates the atmosphere of 1980s club culture through garishly colored walls, Star Trek-themed wallpaper, disco lights, and a mirror bearing the phrase "Would you let yourself in?" - echoing the question bouncers at Bowery and Tony Gordon's club Taboo would ask poorly dressed patrons in 1985. Curator Moran notes that in the absence of social media, this flamboyant club dressing was the most effective outlet for public self-expression during that era.
Bowery's costumes illustrate how dress facilitated performance concepts that transcended conventional notions of fashion and gender. His outfits included head-to-toe polka dots, fake lips attached through pierced cheeks, and headgear with light bulbs on either side. The exhibition's captions, written in conversational tone without jargon, effectively present this slice of British history to broad audiences, describing Bowery as "a small town boy from Sunshine, Australia" who was "bored" and "inspired by the punk scene" before leaving fashion college to arrive in London in October 1980.
Over time, Bowery's use of makeup became sculptural, and his clothing - designed and made with his friend, collaborator, and eventual wife Nicola (Rainbird) Bateman - increasingly manipulated his large frame and physicality. He deliberately flouted tradition in response to various sociopolitical situations. In 1980, Bowery was under the age of consent and could not lawfully embrace his sexuality freely, yet as the exhibition notes, "He did."
By bringing humor, parody, and slapstick to catwalks and lifestyle TV shows, Bowery disrupted established conventions of fashion, high society, and culture. His recreation of the famous "Hello Boys" Wonderbra commercial as a large man exemplified his gleeful satire. Nothing was off limits in his performances, including controversial instances of blackface that were rightfully criticized by his contemporaries as supposedly parodic references to minstrel shows.
More constructive performances targeted contemporary attitudes toward sexuality and gender. The exhibition reveals that his marriage to Nicola was partly motivated by fear of deportation following an arrest for having sex in a public toilet in 1994. In one memorable performance with Bateman, he wore a nylon nude suit with comically exaggerated breasts and gave "birth" to Nicola, who emerged nude and tangled in sausages representing an umbilical cord - a wry reversal of normative gender roles.
The breadth of Bowery's work on display - encompassing dress, dance, and performance - demonstrates that he represented far more than the 1980s New Romantic music movement or subsequent television parodies of what the public might consider weird performance art. He created an entirely original visual vocabulary. Two nude portraits of him by Lucien Freud reveal a more vulnerable side, though despite their intensity, these paintings appear muted compared to bodysuits emblazoned with the phrase "A CUNT" installed on the opposite wall.
Curator Moran explained that the exhibition emerged from longstanding discussions with Tate Modern's director of exhibitions and programs, Catherine Wood, about how artistic practice was reconsidered throughout the 1980s. Bowery worked alongside similarly influential avant-garde figures including filmmaker Derek Jarman and dancer Michael Clark, the latter being a frequent collaborator for whom Bowery designed costumes and with whom he participated in dance performances and experimental films.
These artists all worked during a period of austerity in the UK and often operated outside accepted art market channels. While not explicitly stated in the show, Moran suggests that given the current sociopolitical landscape of austerity and unease, Bowery's work and his approach to art and life - continually shifting appearance and discipline - may speak to contemporary generations of artists and creatives.
The exhibition achieves a rare accomplishment by academically presenting an era of art history while resonating with and possibly inspiring today's sensitivities. In a contemporary society made creatively bland by social media's homogenizing effects, audiences may yearn for such an original artist who had the courage to stick two sequined fingers up to accepted norms.
"Leigh Bowery!" continues at Tate Modern through August 31. The exhibition was curated by Fiontán Moran, Jessica Baxter, Nicola Rainbird, and Margery King, offering visitors a comprehensive look at an artist who challenged every convention of his time.
