Issue 95 / Dec18/Jan19

PREVIEWS
Lisa Lyon by Robert Mapplethorpe
EXHIBITION
Artist Rooms: Robert
Mapplethorpe
The Atkinson – 15/12-23/03
The work of one of NYC’s most celebrated sons is going on
display at The Atkinson in Southport. The photography of
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE captured a key time in the Big
Apple’s cultural revolution, while simultaneously pushing the
boundaries of the form as well as society’s comfort zone. Operating
from the late 1960s onwards, Mapplethorpe got unrivalled access
to the likes of Patti Smith and Andy Warhol, charted the New York’s
BDSM culture and produced some powerful studies of the human form.
Mapplethorpe himself became a cult figure who was the subject
of Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s 2016 documentary Look At The
Pictures. The title of the film taken from Senator Jesse Helms’ plea to
the nation as he saw Mapplethorpe’s frank depiction of nudity, sexuality
and fetishism as demonstrating the US’s slide into moral decline. The
photographer immersed himself in New York’s underbelly and had
a string of famous partners, including Smith who wrote the awardwinning
memoir Just Kids about their relationship.
Mapplethorpe was also responsible for the cover of the punk
forebear’s seminal LP Horses. Other famous faces who found themselves
before the Mapplethorpe lens included Iggy Pop, Debbie Harry and
Richard Gere. He also focused a series of images on female bodybuilder
Lisa Lyon who was the subject of his 1983 book Lady, Lisa Lyon.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th
Century, Mapplethorpe worked with a variety of subjects with his
studies of flowers being among the most celebrated. Works from this
series, as well as a selection of others, will be included in the Southport
exhibition which is displayed in partnership with Tate and National
Galleries Scotland as part of the Artist Rooms tour.
An artist who provoked controversy before and after his death, the
exhibition will pay homage to an unflinching talent. Mapplethorpe died
of complications from HIV/AIDS in 1989 leaving an indelible mark on
the world of photography. This exhibition will celebrate an innovator of
the form who elevated photography to fine art.
theatkinson.co.uk
Omar Souleyman
GIGS
Early February Heads-Up
Various venues – 01/02-
08/02/19
Given that this is our December/January double issue, you’d
be forgiven for thinking that we were pushing it a bit far in
venturing into February in these pages. Fair enough – but,
given that our next issue isn’t due out on the streets until
31st January 2019, we’d be doing a disservice to some sterling work by
Liverpool promoters not to mention some brilliant shows coming up in
the early part of Feb 19.
Syrian vocalist OMAR SOULEYMAN numbers around 500 studio and
live albums to his name, having begun his career in 1994. Around 80 per
cent of those releases are recordings made at weddings and presented
to the married couple, which were later copied and sold on, helping him
to gain a cult-like status. His beat-heavy, electronic style has made his
music a club favourite, which makes his appearance at 24 Kitchen Street
on 2nd February all the more intriguing. Also dropping by Kitchen Street
is British producer and beatmaker extraordinaire Felix Clary Weatherall,
aka ROSS FROM FRIENDS (1st February).
JAH WOBBLE’S INVADERS OF THE HEART are also in town on 1st
February, ready to light up the Philharmonic Music Room. Over the past
three decades, Jah Wobble has ploughed his own furrow as a prolific solo
artist, with a passion for Eastern and global music. If you only know him
for his distinctive low-end bass warbles in Public Image Ltd, you’re in for
a pleasant surprise here.
Primavera regulars HOLY BOUNCER have been described as “a blur
of high-kicking bongo bashing and muscly riffs” – but don’t let that put
you off. The psych groovesters are one of Barcelona’s most talked about
bands, and they bring their mesmeric atmosphere to 81 Renshaw on 2nd
February. THEE LUCIFER SAMS, STRANGE COLLECTIVE and a secret
act yet to be announced are also in attendance – don’t say we didn’t give
you enough warning.
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