“Tell Them I’ve Gone to Papua New Guinea”

Leigh Bowery was a pioneering performance artist of the 1980s and ’90s, known for his hard-to-witness, extravagant, yet seemingly impossible-not-to-watch acts of hedonistic art, and now the visionary is being honored in their own exhibition in London.

“Leigh Bowery: Tell Them I’ve Gone to Papua New Guinea” is being held at Fitzrovia Chapel on the Middlesex Hospital site, which is where Bowery died with AIDS. Here, the exhibition will showcase a film that features interviews with those close to the artist, including his wife Nicola Bateman, Boy George, David Holah, and Dr. Rob Miller—the man who looked after Bowery in his final days at the hospital.

Serving as the backdrop for the exhibition are the costumes, wigs, props, and other oddities that came together to make Bowery’s performance art beyond its years, and subsequently the source of inspiration for not just other performance artists, but creatives in the world of drag, fashion, art, and beyond.

Bowery’s lasting legacy and impact on the creative world will be honored in the “Leigh Bowery: Tell Them I’ve Gone to Papua New Guinea” exhibition until February 6.

Posted by: TAWD on January 10, 2022