B Y LO U I S S I D O L I
FOREWORD: It is often remarked that tremendously influential figures
was, and is, a major source of his appeal. Moreover, he
only reach true prominence posthumously; this, however,
was all things to all people; whether your passion lies
is happily not the case for David Bowie. His ageless,
in art, music, film, fashion or social commentary, the
endlessly creative persona was responsible for a seismic
sheer theatre and zest with which Bowie approached all
shift in popular culture that inspired generations during his
of his projects won hearts and minds aplenty. Followers
career, and it’s this legacy that will ensure his star burns
became fans, fans became friends, and friends became
brightly for many years, and indeed generations, to come.
family. He was decorated in so many ways throughout his career, and won accolades so varied, from a Star on the
“I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir.”
Hollywood Walk of Fame, to being awarded Commander
(David Bowie, Valentines & Vitriol, Rex Reed 1978)
of the Order of Arts and Letters by French culture minister Catherine Trautmann, to being mentioned in the Only
Immortalised here through Sidoli’s marriage of sketching,
Fools and Horses soundtrack, his industry recognition was
printmaking, metallurgy, engineering, carpentry & neon
befittingly diverse.
glass, Bowie lives still through art. A keen artist and collector himself, Bowie took a certain pleasure from his
It is with great symbolism and insight that celebrated
only academic qualification being his O-Level in Art. He
British artist, Louis Sidoli, has chosen to craft a visual
could often be found sketching, painting, drawing with
tribute to Bowie using the chemical element neon as his
charcoal and sculpting; yet one more channel through
medium. Derived from the Greek word,νέον, meaning new
which his ingenuity flowed. In 2007, he established, and
– neon seems wholly appropriate for a man who invented
curated, the High Line festival – a new annual series of
genres, broke down barriers and created new audio
music, film, comedy and art events in New York. From
visual landscapes enjoyed by his fans and contemporaries
curator to subject, he was later, in 2013, the focus of an
alike. Poignantly, whilst neon is ‘cosmically abundant’
extremely well-attended exhibition in 2013 at the Victoria
it is extremely rare on Earth; a beautiful comparison to
and Albert Museum that documented his career through a
draw with the man who seemingly landed on Earth and,
carefully curated display of items, from stage equipment,
fortunately for us, liked it enough to stay a while.
to costumes to his own sketches, from the Bowie organisation’s own archive.
“I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human.”
Bowie’s chameleon-like propensity to evolve and adapt
(David Bowie, interview in Rolling Stone, February 1976)
Oh! You Pretty Thing - 1971
100 x 100cm | Edition size 1 of 3
1971 - Oh! You Pretty Thing: “This piece is based on the cover for the 1971 album “Hunky Dory”. The track ‘Andy Warhol’ on that album first ignited my curiosity and love of the pop art movement from an early age. It’s fair to say that without this album, I might not have become an artist. The image of the album cover was influenced by a photo of Marlene Dietrich that Bowie took to the photo shoot.” - Louis Sidoli
Star - 1972
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3 120 x 120cm | Edition 1 of 1
1973 - Sex Symbol: "With both the male & female sex symbols represented in neon, this piece reflects his androgynous image. The lyrics from ‘Rebel Rebel’ featured on the artwork are Bowie’s actual handwriting." - Louis Sidoli
Sex Symbol - 1973
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
Year Of The Diamond Dogs - 1974 100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
Fame - 1975
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
1976 - The Visitor: “Based on Bowie’s appearance in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, the background is a star map representing the extra-terrestrial origins of Thomas Jerome Newton in the film. I didn’t realise until I finished the piece that the constellation of ‘Chameleon’ is prominent on his face, which is very appropriate because of the well-known media cliché that Bowie was himself a chameleon.” - Louis Sidoli
The Visitor - 1976
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
Berlin - 1977
120 x 120cm | Edition 1 of 3
Glamour 1980
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
RCA - Most Wanted Series
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
Time Takes a Cigarette
153 x 102 cm | Edition 1 of 5
Flaming Star
100 x 100cm | Edition 1 of 3
The images contained within this literature are an artistic representation of the collection. To best experience our art, we recommend you contact your local gallery to arrange a viewing. Š Washington Green 2016. The content of this brochure is subject to copyright and no part can be reproduced without prior permission.