Leigh Bowery was an influential Australian artist whose radical approach to art and performance reshaped 20th-century queer culture, particularly in 1980s and 90s London. The Tate Modern's latest exhibition honors his legacy, blending original footage, costumes, and installations that attempt to recreate the atmosphere of his iconic club nights. Curator Fiontán Moran emphasizes the exhibition's focus on various contexts—home, club, theater—rather than solely on Bowery's physicality. This multi-faceted presentation reveals deeper psychological themes, such as embarrassment, challenging the viewer's understanding of Bowery’s work beyond mere appearance.
"Trying to convey a club in a museum is impossible but I hope we managed to give a hint of what those spaces feel like," says Fiontán Moran.
"It gives you a way to think about the context in which all these things are taking place and takes you out of the tendency to think of everything he did being just about appearance or his body."
The curation and its accompanying texts bring more psychological aspects of the work to the fore. Embarrassment is discussed as a key idea in Bowery's work; perhaps surprising to some given his bombastic approach to self-expression.
Leigh Bowery was one of the great countercultural creators of the 20th century... he created transgressive performances and fashion collections, embedding himself within and coming to define the queer culture of the time.
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