Leigh Bowery
Acting
Biography
Leigh Bowery was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his performances. Based in London for much of his adult life, he was a significant model and muse for the English painter Lucian Freud.
Born: March 26, 1961
Place of Birth: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Known For
The Legend of Leigh Bowery
Welcome to the over-the-top, extravagant world of Leigh Bowery, a key figure in New Romanticism and London nightlife in the 1980s. With his bizarre outfits, a mix of kitsch and fetish, and his eccentric performances, he influenced artists, musicians and stylists like Boy George, Lucian Freud (of whom he became the muse), Vivienne Westwood, Anthony and the Johnsons, John Galliano and David LaChapelle. Born in Australia into an intensely religious family and brought up in a Melbourne suburb, Leigh moved to London where he worked as a fashion designer and a promoter, and started the legendary disco club night "Taboo", the first outrageous polysexual party in London. The documentary offers a fully rounded portrait of this artist, including interviews with the people who knew him, who describe a complex, extreme, and ironic personality, a performer, actor and designer ahead of his time, from his difficult early life to international success, up to his death in 1994.
The British Guide to Showing Off
Documentary about British artist Andrew Logan as he attempts to put on the 2009 edition of his Alternative Miss World. The film also presents a history of the contest (which has run eccentrically since 1972) which was set up firstly as an excuse to have a good party, but has grown into a celebration of alternative lifestyles and sexualities. The documentary mixes archive footage, animated inserts, with talking head interviews and a fly-on-the-wall look at the organisation of the 2009 event
The Ghosts of Oxford Street
Malcolm McLaren, writes, directs and narrates the "history" of Oxford Street. With musical performances by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, Tom Jones, Sinead O'Connor, Happy Mondays and more.
Wigstock: The Movie
The three-decade-old annual Manhattan gathering of drag queens and their fans is portrayed in this colorful documentary. The film concentrates on the spectacle of the event, providing abundant examples of the elaborate costumes, flamboyant wigs, and campy musical performances that characterize the event.
Queerama
Created from a treasure trove of archive, Queerama traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride. The soundtrack weaves the lyrics and music of John Grant, Goldfrapp and Hercules & Love Affair with the images and guides us intimately into the relationships, desires, fears and expressions of gay men and women in the 20th century – a century of incredible change.
Read Only Memory
The film's attempt to re-create an acid trip is showcased in this creature's dance: whenever she moves, a rainbow of colors and shapes appear, as if her appendages are the artist's brushes.
Mrs. Peanut Visits New York
A video portrait of the legendary late performance artist, fashion designer and nightlife icon Leigh Bowery. Atlas's camera follows Bowery as he flamboyantly strolls through Manhattan's Meatpacking District, outrageously costumed in a self-made reinterpretation of "Mr. Peanut," the Planter's Peanut mascot. Bowery's molded full-bodysuit, accessorized with a floral print dress, top hat and transparent-heeled platform shoes, draws stares from onlookers. Peanut-related pop songs accompany him on the soundtrack.
Kinky Gerlinky
Kinky Gerlinky was the biggest, most fabulous, most stylish nightclub London has ever seen. This documentary edited from over 200 hours shot on 21 nights, conveys the experience of one full night out at the club, and gains unique intimacy with most of the action directed to camera.
Because We Must
The Michael Clark Dance Group perform to the music of T.Rex, Chopin, the Beatles and the Velvet Underground.
Hail the New Puritan
A fictionalized portrait of the British dancer and choreographer Michael Clark, depicting a day in his life as he and his company prepare for a performance.
Filmography
as (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as King George