Just 19-years-old, a small-town boy from the Melbourne suburb of Sunshine, Leigh Bowery arrived in London in October 1980 armed with a suitcase full of big dreams and an even bigger talent. Landing at the height of queer club culture’s rise to the forefront of global music and fashion, Bowery wasted no time carving out a space entirely of his own. As a trailblazing ‘club kid’ and nascent influencer, he ran with the likes of Boy George and Marilyn, leaving his mark on icons in art and fashion such as Vivienne Westwood, Lucian Freud, and many more.
Now, an electric and immersive retrospective at the Tate Modern brings together many of Bowery’s most iconic ‘looks’, alongside jaw-dropping collaborations with artistic heavyweights like Michael Clark, John Maybury, Baillie Walsh, Fergus Greer, Nick Knight and Freud himself.
But this exhibition is more than just a tribute to one extraordinary individual – it’s a full-blown celebration of the creative chaos that lit up London (and beyond), featuring fabulous faces like Sue Tilley, Trojan, Princess Julia, Les Child, Andrew Logan, Lady Bunny, Scarlett Cannon, MINTY and, of course, Boy George.
Bowery moved effortlessly from the club floor to the theatre stage to the gallery wall, turning every moment into a spectacle. And while his star rose, the world around him grew darker. The AIDS crisis hit the UK hard and the conservative grip of Margaret Thatcher’s government only deepened the despair. Clause 28 – legislation that banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality by local authorities – cast a chilling shadow over queer lives.
Against that bleak landscape, Bowery’s outrageous fashion, unapologetic queerness and fearless performance didn’t just entertain – it defied. His body became his canvas, his rebellion, and his resistance. His art was activism, his fashion confrontation.
Tragically, Bowery died in 1994 from an AIDS-related illness, just 33-years-old. But now, decades on, the Tate Modern is finally giving him the mainstream recognition he always deserved. It’s a powerful, long-overdue moment – not just for art history but for younger queer audiences who may never have encountered his radical, rule-breaking brilliance.
I’m not one of those older gays who dismiss younger queer experiences with the tired line: “They don’t know what we went through.” But walking through this exhibition, I couldn’t help but wonder: Where are the Leigh Bowerys of today? In a time when LGBTQ+ rights are again under threat around the world, we need new queer heroes – boundary-pushers, agitators, artists who disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed.
I believe they’re out there and I hope Bowery’s legacy – and this extraordinary exhibition – encourages them to step into the light.
Leigh Bowery! is at the Tate Modern in London until August 31.
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/leigh-bowery
