We commissioned Eastbourne-based artist Ladypat for our current window commission.
"I have always been drawn to extreme faces and seem to have been exposed to more than my fair share! When I was a little gay on the Isle of Wight my first job was as a caricaturist at Alum Bay. This grounded my foundation in observing and depicting facial features. Simultaneously, my attention was going on 'new romantic' popstars with heavily made-up features - think Boy George or Steve Strange. Then long years followed in queer clubs - the Leigh Bowery influence and Electroclash scene of early noughties - the club kids exploring unbridled creativity with their appearance - less about the 'Why?' and more about the 'Wow!' Even on travels I've met many characters of jawdropping appearance but never quite got their biography. And that's what 'Everybody Is A Star' is - a misremembered melee of big characters with even bigger backstories - but it's up to you to assign them FAB at birth or otherwise.
I like these characters to look like they are heading cults, or perhaps represent communities where everybody dresses like them - we just don't know about them yet. It's better to remove their genders and age and nationalities and let their true colours shine through. I like them to look quite fierce and not too many smiles - they are not whimsical figures here to sell us something or here for our entertainment. An antidote to homogenous beauty standards - real life people are always more interesting than their airbrushed alteregos. If they can look otherworldly but believable then that's a good result!"
Join us for a guided walking tour of our four public works, led by two of our Associate Artists, Kai Zhang and Flo Wright.
Join us for our first guided walking tour of our five public works, led by two of our Associate Artists, Kai Zhang and Flo Wright.
Nature Rave is a newly commissioned window installation and graphic identity by Devonshire Youth Collective, in collaboration with Two Pens. In celebration of the Turner Prize 2023 with Eastbourne ALIVE.
Love, Empathy, Respect, Dignity is a newly commissioned public artwork by Nadina Ali, in collaboration with Devonshire Youth Collective and Sanctuary. Commissioned in partnership with Eastbourne ALIVE, in celebration of the Turner Prize 2023.
Skill Cut Winner, 2023, is a newly commissioned public artwork by Rottingdean Bazaar. Commissioned in partnership with Eastbourne ALIVE, in celebration of the Turner Prize 2023.
superstructure (public image), 2023, is a newly commissioned public artwork by Madeleine Pledge in Marine Parade Gardens. Commissioned in partnership with Eastbourne ALIVE, in celebration of the Turner Prize 2023.
Still life, 2023, is a newly commissioned public artwork by Adam Moore at the end of Eastbourne Pier. Commissioned in partnership with Eastbourne ALIVE, in celebration of the Turner Prize 2023.