YOU ARE A DOLL @Vout-O-Reenees
Schedule
Fri Aug 09 2024 at 06:00 pm
Location
Vout-O-Reenee's | London, EN
DOLLS DOLLS DOLLS…and nights of superior performances!
Enter the wonderful world of John Lee Bird with this exhibition of his small-scale textile sculptures. Following on from his 2023 exhibition at Ugly Duck in London, John Lee Bird will be presenting a new solo exhibition, of Dolls. With influences stemming from film, cult TV, performance, drag and music, the exhibition will be a celebration of culture, London, and the LGBTQ+ community. So 'doll' yourself up and come on down to this quirky east London arts club for some cocktails and arty fun.
The exhibition will be opening on Friday 9th August and run until 29th August, at the Stash Gallery in Vout-O-Reenee's with exciting events throughout:
Opening night party - Friday 9th August -6pm til late
The opening night party will bring performances by some of the artists immortalised in doll form;
• Jemma Freeman and the Cosmic Something – a Queer, outsider, alt, psych trio of neurodivergent sci-fi warriors. They’ll take us on an introspective journey through glam-rock nightmares and woozy flows of self-discovery with beguiling lyrics and twisted rhythmic guitar playing with each other in a frenzied cosmic dance.
• Sukie Smith who has released 3 critically acclaimed albums with her band Madam performing electronic noir-pop, with “rich vocals, scuzzy hooks, a 90’s reminiscent whirring energy and an empowering spirit”
• Dusty Limits - a singer, comic, actor, writer and director and one of the most celebrated figures on the 'new cabaret' scene. They perform everything from Cole Porter to Portishead, Tom Lehrer to Tom Waits, and have been dubbed “the compere without compare”.
• Martin McCarrick - Cellist, keyboardist, guitarist and composer who has been part of world-famous bands including This Mortal Coil, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Therapy? and together with Kimberlee McCarrick, now forms The McCarricks, collaborating and performing widely, including recently with Marc Almond at his Deities and Demons exhibition.
If you don’t want to miss all this and more, book tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/null/t-vvdokkz
A night with tAngerinecAt - Friday 16th August -6pm til 10pm
The incredible tAngerinecAt will return to London for a special one off show performing music from their album Glass for the last time at an intimate, limited-capacity venue, as part of the exhibition of highly acaimed London artist John Lee Bird.
tAngerinecAt (Zhenia Purpurovsky & Paul Chilton) produce and perform ultra dark electronic music that rose out of the bare realities of life. It’s mixture of underground resistance brewed in a cauldron of many genres like punk, metal, techno, contemporary electronica, DnB, industrial…with the special charm of Purpurovsky’s Ukrainian heritage which makes it almost pitch black. Currently based in North Wales, tAngerinecAt has single-handedly built a worldwide cult following during over a decade of existence, released 5 albums, and toured in eleven countries.
Alongside them this special night will feature the return to the stage of rant/rave band BLANK MILK…think break up songs you can dance to in a sweaty basement bar…AND also on the bill is world-renowned cabaret artist (and rubber seamstress and culture icon) MARNIE SCARLET.
Book tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tangerinecat-are-dolls-tickets-943670081617?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3ueWmEKJfffiwQ4Kbgx999-KyGHnYY2ejs5qkA1fgir2VZUIAPStQrs_8_aem_Ky8JUQpJqfK2H7IZr-ZBMQ
Meet the Artist - Thursday 22nd August -6pm til late
Get up close and personal with artist John Lee Bird. Why is he so obsessed with the film Alien? Where did he learn to sew? What's his favourite Bowie song? Ask him whatever you like and he might just answer.
Tickets are free but please book here:
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/youareadoll/t-noepvke
Think Pink party – Friday 23rd August -6pm til late
John Lee Bird will be performing alongside composer and sound artist Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo with their Think Pink project, a contemporary homage to Derek Jarman’s Blue alongside actor Francesca Sebastian Puopolo and projection courtesy of Holly Johnson (best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood). Fabrizio is known for his work as part of electro-acoustic act Blind Cave Salamande and Amalgest! as well as for his own project (r). John Lee Bird performs as a member of group SLapPeR and also Blank Milk. The duo will be releasing their limited art edition CD ‘Some Time Spent There’ as part of the evening.
The night will include a very special performance by Alexis Gregory; a playwright, performer, director, and producer. His plays include ‘Riot Act’, ‘FutureQueer’, ‘Sex/Crime’, ‘Safe’, ‘Slap’, and the upcoming ‘Smoke’ (Nov ‘24), and have been performed in the West End, throughout London, the UK, internationally, and online. His plays are published by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Also performing will be Suitman Jungle, a talented drummer performing live Drum ‘n’ Bass. Suitman Jungle is, by day, Marc Pell, a member of band Micachu and the Shapes as well as Mount Kimble’s touring live band. His guise as Suitman Jungle combines spoken word, drum and bass and jungle, with lyrics exploring the mundanity of office job life.
Book tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/youareadoll/t-ojoknxk
Stuart McKenzie and Sukie Smith & Tommy Poppers. Saturday 24th August -6pm til late
Stuart McKenzie is an artist, illustrator, poet and musician whose work explores the performance of self through materiality. With ideas gathered from his forthcoming book with Joan Publishing (covering the 80’s and 90’s), McKenzie will be performing what he’s tentatively described as his ‘house poems’ – a spoken word set, set against the backdrop of 808s and 909s, played out on a SP404 with a face full of Mac.
Sukie Smith is a musician who creates cross-disciplinary sonic work, exhibiting and performing internationally. She has released 3 critically acclaimed albums with her band Madam and recently contributed vocals for Tricky’s ‘Hell is Round the Corner (reincarnated)’. She has just released her debut solo album ‘The Glass Dress and a Ringing Bell’ https://sukiesmith.bandcamp.com/album/the-glass-dress-and-a-ringing-bell
…and Tommy Poppers who is a darkroom doll; the bard of all the oldtime backrooms and bathhouses. Poppers the filthiest sailor, writes and sings of only the briefest and steamiest encounters.
Book tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/youareadoll/t-avmprpq
Closing night party - Thursday 29th August -6pm til late
Last chance to see the exhibition! With performances by the fabulous:
• SLapPeR – avant-garde post-punk cabaret weirdness described as “Easily one of the most insane and entertaining bands on the planet”, - think Berlin Cabaret meets the Stooges via Old Time Music Hall!
• Pretzel Cage – surreal drag talent. As a member of Queer Cuntry, they recently performed as part of Chaka Khan’s Meltdown at Southbank and The Glory’s National Theatre Stage.
• Baby Lame – a Punk-horror-drag superstar and theatre clown who uses pop culture and satire to create loud and trashy queer work. They’ve recently been performing as part of the Circus of Horror’s Cabaret of Curiosities tour.
• Anarchistwood - a prank rock theatrical experience with face paint, costumes and props creating an assault on the senses! They push the boundaries of punk rock and anarcho-punk, embodying the original spirit of “be yourself and be different”
Book tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/null/t-noeqzzn