Leigh Bowery and Yinka Shonibare: Disrupting Identity Through Costume and Performance

While these two artists might appear totally different at first – Bowery as a provocative club performer and costume designer in 1980s London’s underground scene, and Shonibare as a renowned fine artist exploring postcolonial themes through installations – they actually share some interesting connections in their artistic approaches.

Both artists use clothing, performance, and the human form in their work to question and disrupt society’s standard ideas about who we are, how we express sexuality, and what makes cultural expression “authentic.” Despite their distinct artistic contexts, both challenged established norms through their creative use of costume and the body as artistic mediums.

The Art of Transformation

Leigh Bowery approached costume as a means of radical personal transformation. His intricate costumes, which included latex, metallic textiles, and odd things, turned his bulky body into sculptures that were impossible to classify.

Viewers were prompted to reconsider their preconceptions about gender, attractiveness, and the human form by these complete manifestations of other personalities, which went beyond simple costumes. In order to create nameless, alien-like forms that were difficult to categorize, Bowery would spend hours painstakingly applying makeup, designing headdresses, and building bodysuits that frequently completely covered his face.

In a similar vein, Yinka Shonibare has used clothes into his artwork, although his method is different in terms of its political and historical relevance. The “African” wax print textiles that Shonibare most famously used were first made by Dutch colonists who wanted to imitate Indonesian batik designs. These fabrics were subsequently sold in West African markets. His headless mannequins clothed in Victorian-era garb fashioned of these textiles provide a strong reflection on colonialism, cultural authenticity, and identity building.

Performance and the Body

For Bowery, performance was inseparable from daily life. Whether appearing at London’s Taboo nightclub, collaborating with choreographer Michael Clark, or posing for Lucian Freud’s paintings, Bowery turned his body into a living artwork. His performances often pushed boundaries of comfort and propriety, sometimes incorporating elements of body modification and endurance. In one famous performance piece at Anthony d’Offay Gallery, he appeared to give birth to his wife Nicola Bateman, who emerged from beneath his costume in a shower of milk and vegetables.

Although live performance is not as central to Shonibare’s work, his installations are by their very nature dramatic. His tableaux frequently depict well-known artworks or historical events that were captured in motion. While their stances allude to European art historical traditions, the headless figures also allude to the anonymity of colonial people and the execution of the French Revolution. Because there are no heads, spectators are forced to concentrate on the bodies and their ornate garments, which makes the clothing the main source of meaning and identity.

Cultural Commentary and Critique

Although they take distinct approaches, both artists utilize their works to question societal conventions and hierarchies of power. Bowery’s outfits and performances directly criticized Thatcher-era conservative British culture, especially its views on gender. His art grew out of and contributed to the definition of London’s club culture, establishing venues for the celebration of alternate identities and the dismantling of traditional barriers.

More obviously political is Shonibare’s critique, which highlights the complexities of postcolonial identity and the effects of colonialism. He uses “African” fabrics, which are actually products of colonial trade networks, to highlight the fake nature of cultural authenticity.

Legacy and Influence

Shonibare has established himself as one of the most significant painters in modern art who tackle postcolonial subjects. Prominent institutions across the world have displayed his art, and his criticism of colonial power dynamics is made even more ironic by his designation as a Member of the British Empire (MBE). His influence can be seen in how contemporary artists approach questions of cultural identity and authenticity.

Commonalities and Dissimilarities

Key themes in the works of Bowery and Shonibare are similar, despite their disparate settings and methods. Both challenge societal conventions and set identities via costuming. Both produce work that uses visual appeal to entice viewers into more in-depth discussions of identity, power, and representation in a way that is both beautiful and frightening.

Their disparities, though, are just as instructive. Bowery’s art sprang from particular subcultural contexts and was intensely personal, mostly utilizing his own body as the medium. Shonibare’s work is more generally political in nature, addressing historical and modern power systems through the use of nameless characters. Whereas Shonibare’s works are meticulously planned and conserved, Bowery’s performances were sometimes impromptu and fleeting.

Contemporary Relevance

The works of both artists continue to be crucial to contemporary identity issues, particularly in a time when public discourse revolves on issues of gender and cultural authenticity. While Shonibare’s research on cultural hybridity adds to current conversations about globalization and cultural appropriation, Bowery’s radical approach to personal development anticipated many contemporary talks on gender fluidity and body positivity.

When taken as a whole, these artists show how clothing and performance can be effective means of challenging social mores and forging new identities. Identity is constantly enacted and challenged, influenced by social, historical, and individual variables, as their art reminds us.

Photo Credit: “Hibiscus Rising sculpture by Yinka Shonibare. LEEDS 2023” by David Lindsay.