Exhibition, Prints and Club Night, 2016
Vivienne Westwood
Inspired by the work and legacy of Vivienne Westwood, I developed a new body of visual work for an exhibition and club night held at Font Bar in Manchester. Three original prints anchored the show, alongside a costume competition, a live DJ set and a room full of people finding their own way into her influence.
The Brief
Vivienne Westwood built a body of work out of tailoring, punk provocation and a very English sense of heritage, worn as argument rather than decoration. I wanted to make something in that spirit rather than about it, so I developed a new set of prints that borrowed her visual language, then built an evening around them.
The project combined the new artworks with a live DJ night, bringing visual culture, fashion reference and sound into one shared room at Font Bar. Alongside the exhibition, a competition invited people to create and wear their own Westwood-inspired outfit, with the winning entry receiving a print from each of the three exhibited designs.
The Prints
Three original prints formed the show. One set a halo and a fistful of roses against Big Ben, printed across several colourways so the same image could be read three different ways on one wall. Another paired a gun barrel with a radiating starburst, closer to punk sleeve art than gallery photography. A third placed a figure in tartan and a paper crown on an ornate throne, shot as a triptych against a real Peak District landscape of sheep and stone cottages.
Each print was made specifically for the show, working from Westwood’s own habit of putting British heritage imagery next to something that undercuts it.
The Exhibition
The prints went up at Font Bar itself, among the venue’s own decor of birdcages, mismatched frames and a gong over the stairs, rather than in a stripped-back gallery space. One print hung as a set of four colourways in one grid, close to the bar itself.
The Competition
Alongside the exhibition, guests were invited to build their own Westwood-inspired outfit for the night, tartan, corsetry and heavy makeup among the more literal readings, with the prize being a print from each of the three exhibited designs.
The Night
I DJed alongside other selectors, building sets around the music associated with Westwood’s own cultural world, punk, post-punk and wider alternative influences, rather than trying to literally soundtrack the prints on the wall. The night worked as much through dress, movement and presence as it did through anyone actually stopping to look at the work.
Commission a Similar Project
If you are planning an exhibition, a print run or a night that needs a DJ who can also make the artwork, get in touch. This kind of project works best with a clear starting reference and room to push it somewhere the reference does not obviously go.
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Questions
What was the Vivienne Westwood project?
An exhibition of three original prints paired with a live DJ night and a costume competition, held at Font Bar in Manchester in 2016, developed in response to Vivienne Westwood’s work and cultural influence.
Where and when was it held?
At Font Bar in Manchester on 31 March 2016.
What prints were exhibited?
Three original prints, each shown across multiple colourways or panels: one referencing Big Ben and a halo of roses, one pairing a gun barrel with a radiating starburst, and one showing a figure on a throne set against a Peak District landscape.
What was the costume competition?
Guests were invited to create and wear their own Vivienne Westwood-inspired outfit. The winning entry received a print from each of the three exhibited designs.
Did Mark DJ at the event?
Yes. Mark DJed alongside other selectors, with sets drawing on punk, post-punk and wider alternative influences associated with Westwood’s cultural world.
Can the prints be seen or commissioned now?
Get in touch to ask about the original prints or to discuss a similar exhibition, print run or event.
From the Journal
From a Field in Croatia to a Frame on the Wall
Dated entries following the Vivienne Westwood work, from the first clothes made at Outlook Festival in 2013 to the exhibition and club night at Font Bar and where the prints travelled after.
Selected Work