Лей Бoуэри: Художник, Модель и Икона Стиля

Australian artist and fashion designer (1961–1994)

Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his conceptual, flamboyant, and outlandish costumes and makeup, as well as his (sometimes controversial) live performances. Based in London for much of his adult life, he was a significant model and muse for the English painter Lucian Freud. Bowery's friend and fellow performer Boy George said he saw Bowery's outrageous performances a number of times, and that it "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." Once in England, he soon became part of the London club scene. He quickly became an influential and lively figure in the underground clubs of London, and New York, as well as in art and fashion circles. He attracted attention by wearing wildly outlandish and creative outfits during the day and at nighttime, 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". He often appeared in magazines and on television, including commercials for Pepe Jeans and Rifat Ozbek. In 2005, The National Portrait Gallery of Australia acquired a portrait of Bowery, in his infamous fur coat, by photographer David Gwinnutt. In 2007, The National Portrait Gallery, London purchased Gwinnutt's portrait of Bowery and Trojan (Barnes), which also appears in the Violette Editions book.

He was known as a club promoter, and created the club Taboo at Maximus in Leicester Square with promoter Tony Gordon in 1985. Taboo soon became "the place to be" with long queues for those waiting to get in. Drugs, particularly ecstasy, became a part of the dancing scene for the attendees. The club was known for defying sexual convention, for embracing "polysexualism", for creating a wild atmosphere and for playing unexpected song selections. The DJ's were Jeffrey Hinton, Rachel Auburn and Mark Lawrence. Regular guests include Boy George, George Michael, John Galliano, Judy Blame, Bodymap, Michael Clark, John Maybury, Cerith Wyn Evans. Taboo only lasted 18 months and closed in 1986.

As a fashion designer, Bowery had several shows exhibiting his collections in London, New York and Tokyo. He has influenced several designers and artists, and was known for 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.

In 1993, Bowery formed the Romo/ art pop band Minty with friend knitwear designer Richard Torry, Nicola Bateman, and Matthew Glammore. In November 1994, Minty began a two week long show at London's Freedom Cafe, including audience member Alexander McQueen, but it was too much for Westminster City Council, who closed down the show after only one night. This was to be Bowery's last performance. The show was documented by photographer A. M. Hanson with imagery subsequently published in books about Bowery and McQueen. Minty was a financial loss and represented a low point in Bowery's colourful career. After his death, the band continued under the leadership of Bateman and Glammore up until the release of album Open Wide. This 1997 album was released on Candy Records and featured the singles "Useless Man", "Plastic Bag", "Nothing" and "That's Nice". A spin off band called The Offset later formed including artist Donald Urquhart. In 2020, Open Wide was re issued by Candy Records in association with The state51 Conspiracy, while "Useless Man" received a remix by Boy George and a new promo video directed by Torry and Glammore. His wife did not know that Bowery had the virus until he was admitted to hospital in late November 1994. He died seven months after his marriage, on New Year's Eve 1994 (the date has been disputed by his father, who says he actually died in the early hours of New Year's Day, 1995), from an AIDS related illness at the Middlesex Hospital, Westminster, London, five weeks after his admission. Lucian Freud paid for Bowery's body to be repatriated to Australia.

Boy George was the creative force, the lyricist and performer in the musical Taboo, which was loosely based on Bowery's club. The musical was produced in 2002 on the West End in London, and then opened on Broadway. As a performer, Boy George played Bowery. In an interview conducted by Mark Ronson for Interview Magazine Boy George said that Bowery would sometimes speak with a posh English accent, and one didn't always know if he was sincere or mocking: He seemed to be "in character" at all times. Bowery decorated his flat in a style that was similar to the way he dressed, with Star Trek themed wallpaper, mirrors and a large piano. He was a ringleader of misbehaviour, and with his club, he created a place where there were no rules. In the clubs at the peak of his fame, he would distort his body in various ways so that he would appear deformed, or pregnant or with breasts. Bowery once said, "Flesh is my most favourite fabric". Bowery was the subject of a contemporary dance, physical theatre and circus show in August 2018 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, put on by Australian choreographer Andy Howitt.