Leigh Bowery!
Tate Modern, London
From February 27th until August 31st, 2025
Few figures in contemporary culture embody the transformative power of self-expression quite like Leigh Bowery. With Leigh Bowery! at Tate Modern, London finally gets the deep dive it deserves into the life and legacy of a man who blurred the lines between art, fashion, performance, and pure spectacle. Curated by Fiontán Moran in close collaboration with Bowery’s widow and artistic partner Nicola Rainbird, the exhibition is an audacious, glitter-drenched homage to a singular creative force.
Born in Melbourne in 1961, Bowery arrived in London in 1980 and immediately set about disrupting every norm he encountered. He didn’t just exist within the ’80s underground club scene; he was the scene. From the infamous Taboo club to collaborations with choreographer Michael Clark, Bowery’s creations were as shocking as they were hypnotic – kaleidoscopic bodysuits, obscenely proportioned silhouettes, and garments that confronted and provoked.
opening image: Baillie Walsh, Still from Generations of Love music video 1990 © Baillie Walsh. Courtesy Black Dog Films.
Tate Modern’s show unfolds in thematic sections – home, club, studio, and street – each a window into Bowery’s world. Mannequins sheathed in recreations of his most iconic costumes stand alongside original pieces miraculously surviving the rigors of disco dirt. Nearby, videos of Bowery’s riotous performances play on loop, while John Maybury’s film Read Only Memory (1989) captures the raw, unfiltered energy of an era fuelled by excess. “We had all learned from punk,” says Maybury. “To a degree, the same sensibility was at play – have fun, annoy people, and maybe get your face on the front of a tabloid newspaper. Attention was Leigh’s currency, and he used it to open doors and push boundaries.”
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Beyond the visual bombardment, Leigh Bowery! also highlights the personal – letters, diary entries, and rare photographs reveal an artist who was as deliberate as he was chaotic. The inclusion of Lucian Freud’s masterful portraits, painted in Bowery’s final years, offers a counterpoint to the flamboyance. Here, the artist is stripped bare, his corpulent form rendered with the same stark honesty he demanded of himself. Bowery wasn’t just a provocateur – he was an oracle. His work foreshadowed today’s drag revolution, the rise of gender-fluid fashion, and the performative nature of social media. His relentless self-invention feels eerily prescient.
And yet, despite his mythic stature, Leigh Bowery! reminds us that he was, above all, someone who lived to shock, entertain, and push boundaries. Whether prancing down a catwalk in an inflatable latex suit or turning an enema into a performance piece, Bowery’s art was about presence – total, uncompromising, and unforgettable.
Leaving the exhibition, the sheer excess, wit, and audacity of it all lingers. Bowery didn’t just break the rules – he didn’t acknowledge they existed in the first place.
For further information visit tate.org.uk.
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York.
