Eccentric fashionista and nightclub promoter Leigh Bowery comes back to life at the Potato Shed on Saturday, when Victorian dancer Andy Howitt resurrects the “Sunshine Boy”.
Bowery was born in 1961 in Sunshine and moved to London in 1980, transforming himself through fashion and performance art.
He co-founded the legendary London nightclub Taboo, using the venue as an outlet for his confronting performances.
Howitt, the former director of Ausdance Victoria, first saw the bizarrely-clad Bowery onstage while studying dance in London in the early 80’s.
“I had never seen a performer like that before,” he said.
“Leigh was kinda funny and crude but very musical and danced quite beautifully. He was, and still is, so influential.”
Howitt mimics the uniquely gothic and grotesque costumes of Bowery, which have inspired artists like Lady Gaga and Boy George, in his show Sunshine Boy.
Bowery manipulated his flesh to create personas by wearing outlandish makeup, taping his torso and piercing his cheeks in order to hold masks.
He died in London on New Year’s Eve, 1994, from an AIDS-related illness, seven months after marrying long-time companion Nicola Bateman, despite always describing himself as gay.
Nearly 25 years after his death, Bowery’s work still influences fashion and theatre today, and lives on in the work of English painter Lucien Freud.
Sunshine Boy features music from David Bowie, The Fall, The Cure, The Stranglers, Sonic Youth and Velvet Underground.
The Sunshine Boy – The Life of Leigh Bowery begins at 8pm on Saturday at The Potato Shed.
