TRANSFORMER EVENTS PROGRAMME

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For info and RSVP e-mail giulia@richardsaltoun.com Richard Saltoun Gallery presents a series of events as part of the current exhibition Transformer: Aspects of Travesty. The programme reflects around the politics of drag and feminine aesthetics, from the '70s to the present time. The current proliferation of curated events and shows that reference these practices in London, along with a growing generation of younger queer artists who embrace those same visions, has made the present time the moment to stage a reappraisal of Transformer (1974). The programme is curated by Giulia Casalini. Thursday 30 January THE COCKETTES Elevator Girls In Bondage: Screening 7:00 pm (RSVP) Elevator Girls in Bondage (1972, 57' colour, dir. Michael Kalmen), starring The Cockettes' members, including Rumi Missabu and Hibiscus (Angel of Light). Introduced by Giulia Casalini. The underpaid staff of a seedy hotel rise up in revolt when head Elevator Girl Maxine (Rumi) starts a Marxist-Feminist secret association to liberate the girls. Issues of economic and sexual exploitation are raised in this film with a surreal and fun cynicism. Thursday 13 February TRANSFORMER with JONNY WOO 7:00 pm Tour of the exhibition with drag performer and writer Jonny Woo. Jonny Woo has been a central figure for reviving the cabaret scene and for taking alternative drag performance to mainstream audiences since 2000. He has performed at the ICA, Bistroteque, Soho Theatre, and in a variety of international festivals, also curating events for MTV, Selfridges and The Royal Opera House. Thursday 27 February LIVING THE DREAM 7:00 pm (RSVP) Gavin Butt explores the Andy Warhol / Paul Morrissey film, Women in Revolt! (1971) in the context of the Transformer exhibition. Against the backdrop of the film's comic and politically troublesome treatment of the Women's Liberation Movement, Butt focuses on the dreams of stardom and social advancement that the film arguably attempts to make real for its transgender players. The film features Andy Warhol superstars and transgender underground legends Candy Darling, Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn. Gavin Butt is Professor of Visual Cultures and Performance at Goldsmiths University. He explores art and performance practices across high and popular cultures, and within underground and subculture. He is the co-director of the Performance Matters research project and co-director of the film This is Not a Dream (2013).