Leigh Bowery - Tell Them I’ve Gone to Papua New Guinea

Glorious exhibition at the Fitzrovia Chapel celebrating the life and work of performance artist, Leigh Bowery.

This show was so moving as the venue was the chapel of the Old Middlesex hospital where Bowery died on New Years Eve 1994. It’s gold mosaic walls and ceiling were a fabulous backdrop for the opulent costumes which were on show. The title comes from what he asked his friend Sue Tilley to tell people after he had died.

I’d seen Bowery’s costumes in an art context before and they look amazing. If you are an art buff it is easy to just see Bowery now as one of Lucien Freud’s models so it is always good to be reminded of his own work. I loved the a pink tunic decorated with crystals and a very Cruella Deville short number worn as part of a weeklong performance at a gallery in 1988. The outfit shown here was made for a TV appearance.

I don’t always have the patience for watching a video in an exhibition but in this case, like most other people who were there, I sunk down to watch the fascinating documentary, largely filmed in the chapel, with interviews by his friends as well as the doctor who treated him for AIDS at the Middlesex Hospital. It is well worth watching to get a flavour of the man and the exhibition.

Closed 6 February 2022

Review

Evening Standard


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