We’ve all heard of Sid Vicious, Joe Strummer and Iggy Pop. But what about Gina Birch, Ari Up and Gaye Black? Although not completely unknown, these women pioneers of punk often go unsung. In a new free exhibition, the Museum of Youth Culture (MOYC) is finally giving them their safety pin-adorned flowers with a show dedicated entirely to the ‘she punks’ of the past 50 years.
Taking place in a single room at the MOYC, God Save the Queens brings together rare and previously unseen artwork, photography, fashion, film and archival material. A large chunk of the exhibition comes from the archive of the late Poly Styrene – the braces-wearing frontwoman of X-Ray Spex – and is curated by her daughter Celeste Bell.
The museum crams a lot into the fairly compact space. On the far wall is a gallery of larger-than-life photos – the highlight of the exhibition. Vivienne Westwood, shot by Dennis Morris (1978), leans nonchalantly against the SEX shop counter with her iconic spiked hair. Debbie Harry, by Bob Gruen (1977), looks at the camera in her Wayfarers, while sitting in a car smoking a cigarette. Jayne County of the Electric Chairs squats down on stage, holding the mic stand to her crotch like an appendage, shot by Jill Furmanovsky. Poly Styrene, Siouxsie Sioux and Soo Catwoman are also all here.
The women in these photos look like the coolest people on earth
The women in these photos look like the coolest people on earth, and what’s most striking is how they all appear fabulously human. Wrinkles, sweat and rolls of fat are all on show. Patti Smith, shot by Kate Simon (1976), leans on a urinal, jeans undone to display a stretch-marked stomach. In the era of botox, Korean SPF and red light therapy, these women are refreshing reminders that it might be more fun to not look like a Victoria’s Secret model.
Also on display are collages and paintings by Caroline Coon – a former sex worker and manager of the Clash, known for her countercultural art – including ‘Between Parades’, a large oil canvas depicting sex workers painting their nails and doing their hair as they wait for clients in a brothel. Archival fashion pieces – including the ‘tits’ t-shirt designed by Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, and a fabulous black Zandra Rhodes ensemble covered in safety pins, chains and rips, worn by Debbie Harry – hang from the ceiling.
The display doesn’t have much in the way of a narrative, and doesn’t really explain who Poly Styrene, the Slits, or Pattie Smith were/are. Maybe it assumes that everybody knows already? Or maybe it’s punk to defiantly choose not to have lengthy gallery texts? It could also be down to the space – paintings, photos, album covers, flyers and press cuttings cover every inch of the MOYC’s walls, jostling for space.
But everything feels exhilaratingly raw and DIY – concept art for the X-Ray Spex album Germfree Adolescents features a packet of Microgynon pills and a used tube of polystyrene adhesive stuck to a page of a scrapbook. If you’re feeling fatigued by the AI slop epidemic, God Save the Queens could be just the tonic you need.
