Judy Blame: Never Again exhibition
Judy Blame: Never Again exhibition
The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London showcased a retrospective of Judy Blame’s work entitled “Judy Blame: Never Again”. The legendary fashion stylist, art director and jewellery designer presented his first major solo exhibition at the ICA.
London celebrates the 40th anniversary of the punk movement this year . It seems just right that one of the many exhibitions that are being carried out to celebrate such an influential phenomenon is dedicated to someone who definitely contributed to such an important cultural revolution.
Judy Blame began his meteoric career in the early 1980s. His life is one of those that seems to be taken from a book. At the age of 17, he left home not knowing what he wanted to do with his life but he was certain he wanted to be where the whole scene was. He moved to London where he lived for a while. With the £300 he had saved, he went to Vivienne Westwood’s shop and bought a pair of trousers and a T-shirt for himself, Westwood herself was selling the clothes in the shop. Despite that anecdote, he thought London wasn’t very friendly so he decided to go to Manchester instead, where he had some friends living up there.
It was there where he met the iconic British graphic designer Malcolm Garrett colleague Peter Saville who were just about to leave college. They were such a huge influence to Blame who never went to college. He admits he educated himself through top quality people like Garrett and Saville. But his fascination and love for art and visuals probably came from the time he lived as a child in Spain. His family had to move to Madrid when he was about five years old. He remembers how his mom used to drop him in the Prado’s museum on Saturdays while she went shopping. He used to spend hours and hours in the museum staring at Goya and Velazquez’s paintings. Those pieces of art remained somehow etched in his memory without even realising how much they would influence his future career in fashion.
After living in Manchester for 18 months, Blame moved back to London with Malcolm Garrett. His maverick attitude and his creativity led him to began customising his own clothes as well as his own jewellery. Soon, his provocative and original pieces of jewellery made out of safety pins, buttons, shells, studs, cutlery or plastic bags really grabbed attention and the rest is history.
Judy Blame worked as a fashion stylist for magazines such as i-D, The Face or BLITZ. He also collaborated with fashion designers such as John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo and Gareth Pugh. His irreverent and provocative images and his unique and creative aesthetic made him earn the respect from the music and fashion industry.
The exhibition at the ICA included Blame’s collages, fashion editorials, jewellery and clothing among many other things.
Judy Blame: Never Again exhibition
