CREED

Contrary to popular belief, Bowery was not part of the New Romantic movment that was popular in Britain during the early 1980s.

Though perhaps he is more properly placed within the context of early fashion clubs such as Cha Cha’s at Heaven and the “Hard Times” movement, he was always at the centre of the pansexual set of young and fashionable Londoners.

From being a plump, studious, and often bullied child, Leigh grew up to often be uncomfortable in his skin, and used his frequently bizarre designs as an armour for his insecurities. As he got larger he used his costumes to exaggerate his size, and the effect was frequently overpowering and unforgettable for those who encountered him, the more so because of his confrontational style.. Bowery was not a wallflower. In the early days Bowery felt comfortable with describing himself as “gay”, although he had intense and passionate friendships occasionally of a sexual nature with women, often in the form of a sadomasochistic type relationship, with Bowery firmly in the role of master puppeteer. With his bizarre looks Leigh often had difficulties attracting the men he was sexually attracted to, and he would often describe having sex in risky underground situations such as “cottaging”, with unattractive individuals.

Unlike many of his club contemporaries Bowery was highly intelligent, widely read, and passionate about all forms of artistic expression. While he could be extremely witty and charming, he would often be a malicious fashion bully, intimidating friend and foe alike with his sharp tongue and accusations. These all reflected a sign of the times where “hardness” went hand in hand with the club scene.Although Taboo was over by early 1987, Bowery was at the very heart of London’s alternative fashion movement. It was probably at this time he contracted HIV, although he kept this a closely guarded secret from most friends until days before his death. Being HIV-positive at this time was seen as a death sentence and there was much fear and discrimination to be faced – Bowery did not want to be described as an artist with AIDS, feeling it would overshadow any of his artistic achievements.

In 1988 he had a week-long show in Anthony d’Offay’s prestigious Dering Street Gallery in London’s West End, in which he lolled on a chaise longue behind a two-way mirror, primping and preening in a variety of outfits while visitors to the gallery looked on. The insouciance and audacity of this overt queer narcissism captivated gallery goers, critics and other artists. Bowery’s exquisite appearance, silence and intense self-absorption were further accentuated by his own recordings of random and abrasive traffic noises which were played for the show’s duration. The very intimate and private was flung in the face of the public complete with a “street life” sound track, hinting perhaps at something still darker. In some outfits he appears like some strange roadside creature, like a cat that finally got the cream (of art world attention); in others he is the “Satan’s Son” that he would whisper, years later, on his deathbed.