A visit to Blackpool's freakish past

Last week I visited Blackpool's Local History Library as part of my research for my tattooed lady project. I wanted to get a real feel for the sideshows and fairgrounds a tattooed lady from the past might have appeared in, and Blackpool, with it's entertainment history did not disappoint!

The library sits not far from where some of Blackpool's finest attractions have been drawing in excited crowds over the last century and more. Upstairs inside an unassuming room filled with filing cabinets and shelves crammed with books, I was lucky enough to learn something of the extraordinary world populated by robot men, starving brides and of course tattooed ladies.

Having access to the Cyril Critchlow collection and with helpful staff on hand I was soon immersed in a very different Blackpool to the one we know today. 

With no TV or home entertainment, the piers and promenades of the 19th and early 20th Century were heaving with amusements. 'The Golden Mile' written by Cryril Critchlow described the area as 'a strange conglomerate of wooden huts and canvas tents housing auctions of various orders of merit, photographers of every degree of ability, retailers of botanical beers, coffees and seafood, quack doctors, soothsayers, phrenologists and traditional gypsy fortune tellers. Then there were the swings, roundabouts, Aunt Sally stalls, rifle galleries and every sort of rough and ready amusements, the more freakish or macabre the sideshows the better the public liked it '.

I learned about a variety of the attractions on these freakish macabre sideshows, here are some of the best:

The Starving Bride (1930's): These young women were usually brides to be, or newly weds, sometimes joined by their spouses in a public display of starvation! Offered large sums of money they would forgo food for days or even weeks and be exhibited in glass cases for the fascinated crowds. In one particularly morbid photo a middle aged couple gaze down smiling at the diminished figure lying in her large glass coffin like case.

Anatomy exhibits (1920-60's): Showing at Louis Tussauds, the anatomies on display varied from the head of an Eyptian mummy to a freak of nature; a man found in the family way! The young man in question was actaully pregnant with his conjoined unborn twin sister.

One excerpt I especially enjoyed from the anatomy exhibits catalogue of 1949 read, 'This full length Florentine model of Louise Lateau posesses more than ordinary interest and for the truthfulness of this strange story I am about to relate I beg to inform the public that more than 100 physicians and other scientific gentlemen and professors of universities in Belgium have put Louise Lateau through every test that could be devised. These men of science have borne testimony to the following facts...'

It transpires Miss Lateau suffered from stigmata and ecstatic fits, but if they'd just put that in the catalogue it wouldn't have been half so entertaining!

The Robot Man (1950's): a mind reading robot man who could answer any question thrown at him. The poster advertising him read, 'Actually made in South Africa, A replica of the Robot shown to the Royal Family of England, Is this another Frankenstein Monster? How does it get it's knowledge? Can it get out of control? Can he answer your question? Come and see for yourself'.'

Other freakish favourites along the Golden Mile included: La Belle Eve, a teenage stripper! A child from Accrington born with no arms but could knit with her feet, Alf Pyott who stood ony two feet high and Mavoureen, the Irish woman who weighted 33 stone. 

All these characters perfectly fit our idea of the circus style sideshows from the past but they wouldn't be complete without a tattooed lady. Tanya the Tattooed Lady, real name Gillian Butterworth, was a former wall of death rider, who invited customers to try and rub her tattoos off to prove they were genuine. (Anyone who fancied their own tattoo after seeing hers could step outside to a kiosk where Price Eugene, a real prince, would give the choice of a clipper ship, a dragon or a nude woman on the upper arm. The figure would wiggle when the muscle was flexed). Another tattooed lady was the 'World Famous' Gipsy Castella who performed on her lute to the fascinated crowds as early as 1910.

One of things that stands out for me most from these weird and wonderful figures is that many had a story attached to them. As strange as it seems it wasn't enough to be an oddity, you had to be an oddity with something extra to capture the public's imagination. Whether that was being a poor little virgin bride starving away before her life had truely begun, or a stigmata phenomanon who has stumped the finest minds in Europe. Even the Robot Man, a real draw in the era of Science Fiction, proclaimed he had been shown to royalty to add a certain glamour.

The tattooed people of the sideshow, pulled huge crowds partly for their blatantly marked bodies, but also had their talents and speils. As my visit to Blackpool proved a good story is half of the show and I've got some great inspiration towards my own contemporary tattooed lady!

Tales of Love and Regret

Imagine it's 1929, and that the travelling fair has just reached your town. You've heard so many things about it that you can't wait to visit and experience it all for yourself.

You've never travelled anywhere, not been far from home or ever seen much of the world, but suddenly a whole train of new people with exotic lifestyles sets up temporary camp on your doorstep.

That first night the sky is lit up with coloured lights and the air is filled with the squeals and delighted screams of your friends riding the big wheel and the ghost train. Every one of your senses is assaulted; you smell the tang of sweat from the boxing ring and you can still taste the syrupy toffee apple stuck to your teeth.

As you search for the next entertainment you eyes are caught by a bright billboard outside a tent, it reads, 'The Living Art Gallery - To be seen ALIVE!' 

Your interest is completely piqued, you pay your admittance fee and join the back of a small crowd waiting for the red velvet curtains in front of them to part. 

'Ladies and gentlemen prepare yourselves for a sight that goes against every notion of civilized culture. It should never have been allowed, but let her tell you herself about how an innocent young woman has been transformed into the extaordinary exhibit you shall witness this very night. I present to you, The Tattooed Lady!'

The curtains part, the small crowd gasps and you own eyes widen in shock. There on the low stage striking the most confident of poses stands a woman in a barely there costume. But she looks fully clothed, for every inch of skin below her neckline is covered in colouful pictures. You glimpse sailing ships on her chest, eagles swooping across her collar bones and flags and flowers playing down her arms.

It repulses you yet fascinates you at the same time. How could this have happened? Why would a woman let this outrageous thing be done to herself? But your curiosity doesn't have long to wait, for as you crane your neck to get a better view, the Lady bids you all welcome and asks you to step closer to hear her adventures, her travails and her tales of love and regret...

Welcome to my new project, The Tattooed Lady; Tales of Love and Regret. This work is inspired by heart break, break ups and the dark side of the fun fair and is to be shown as part of a group show in Manchester's new arts venue HOME next spring.

Join the facebook page HERE

I am fascinated by tattoos and those images of tattooed women from the early 20th Century are especially exciting to me as they would have been so shocking and disturbing to the public of their day. I find the aesethic is so uncontrived and beautiful that I couldn't help but be drawn to them as a starting point for my work.

This project aims to create a contemporary tattooed lady based on modern tales of love gone wrong. 

There are many reasons to be tattooed for love; teenage impulse, obsession with a celebrity or even a brand or character, and of course, getting inked in honour of your true love. But not all these reasons stick, even if the marks they leave are lasting. 

To create this work, I want to hear YOUR stories of love tattoos you now regret. Please share them either on the FACEBOOK page or anonymously through the form on my WEBSITE.

These stories will go on to inspire the finished work and your input will go on to create something beautiful and exciting for others to experience much in the same way as the audience of the travelling fair of the past.

More to come...

A wrap up interview with Grace

 Grace at Cornerhouse with her Pre Raphaelite portrait

Last week I met with Grace Oni Smith, the muse for my recent work on transgender femininty inspired by Pre Raphaelite paintings. We caught up on make up, drank tea, and talked about our time working together on the project which is currently on show at Cornerhouse as part of Cornerhouse Projects. There's only two days left so take a look while you can!

Hi Grace, how are you?

Very tired, I've been doing lots of gigs for Pride, apart from that I'm good thanks.

What have you been up to over Pride?

I performed at Mother's Ruin and Cha Cha Boudoir. I did the Drunk At Vogue Love Boat and a new night called Glitter Pig which is a fetish fantasy night, all very sexy where the lovely LGBT crowd can get all dressed up.

Sounds great! No wonder you're tired. So, we're sitting here now at Cornerhouse in relative peace and quiet surrounded by pictures of you. How does it feel to be the inspiration for this work?

It's surreal. Especially to see everything finished and shown together. Now it's all done it feels like such a long time ago when we actually started this project.

How have your friends from the transgender and gay community reacted to this project?

They're very proud.

Has this project taught you anything about yourself?

I think the main thing, even though we used artifice to explore creativity in femininty, was seeing myself with no make up and the way you handled that image. It's quite exposing to see my appearance through your artisitc filter. It's made me see things about myself I wasn't aware of. 

I tend to show myself in terms of a fierce femininty, no matter what image I decide to project. I see myself as a blank canvas which I usually paint on top of. It's interesting to see how someone else sees that blank canvas.

(At this point Grace went to bar to get tea)

The guy behind the bar was staring at me, then he realised I was all over the walls and he said 'I thought I recognised your face!'

 Ha! Well he's been looking at you for over a month so I'm not surpised! To go back to what you said about seeing yourself as a blank canvas, I think that's kind of sad. It's like your missing out on who you actually are before you paint on the character you're going to be. You're already great. Do you know what I mean?

I don't think I see that. I don't know if I will ever embrace that side of myself entirely.

I'm not happy with the way I look. I can see I've got a good face and a good body. I've got arms and legs and everything works, it's not like I'm an armorphous blob or anything, I'm just not where I want to be, but I'm interested in where I can take that. 

I hope in time you feel able to embrace yourself fully. I tried to capture something of you in the raw. I never wanted you become a character in the portraits. Even though we used drag as a way of exploring your femininity I saw that as just another way of showing who you are.

You had an incredibly interesting way of appoaching the subject matter. When you see it all together you can definately see it's from a female perspective. There's no fetishism there, it's very much anchored in emotion. When I've worked on other projects about being transgender I've felt quite exposed and exploited, but I never felt that in this work. You handled it in such a sensitive way.

I've learned so much from this project; mostly it given me an insight into the life of a transgender woman, which is something I knew nothing about before. It's also taught me how powerful drag can be as an art form and as a way of exploring infinate variations of gender. Will drag always play a part in your life do you think?

I think so. I can't look into the future and not see an element of drag. It's a way of creating who you want to be each day, creating an instant message. There'll never be a time when I don't sit down in the morning and take that route.

One day I hope to have kids and I can't imagine I'll still be getting up on stage with my boobs out performing,  but drag will always be a part of my life in some guise..

The feedback for this project has been really positive. I've had a great response to the way you have been represented, as a person who happens to be transgender. The 'transgender' is almost incidental but still very important in the context of the work. What can we/ people/ society  learn from this ?

It goes back to something you mentioned earlier about drag making you realise that there are lots of different gender variations. 

When it comes to gender, 99% of people have very defined ideas. The reality is I'm a woman, I'm a make up artist, I'm Jewish. I'm more than transgender, but not everyone sees that. 

That really becomes apparent when I meet new people and see their reactions. It is so tiring being a transgender person constantly being judged, I have to find ways to safeguard myself.

I feel very lucky to live in the society we live in and having the opportunity to change people's perceptions of gender, but a lot of people are oblivious to understanding it.

How do you feel about the recent focus on transgender issues in the media with Kellie Maloney being in the Big Brother house?

I don't personally watch that show, but I have seen the press around the story and how badly it was handeld. When Kellie came out the papers had a field day with the 'sex swap boxing coach'. They kept referring to her as 'he' this and 'he' that. It's upsetting to see how far behind things are, that people can't grasp the basics.

  
Kellie was always Kellie, she just found the strength to recently live as Kellie. The press focused heavily on the fact she was a boxing coach. Trans-people can do any job, what difference does it make?

When she went into the Big Brother house the trans issue just became a circus again. Even people in the LGBT community think it's a joke. A few years ago there was another trans person in the house; Lauren Harries. It's like there is a slot in there for the transgender clown. No well adjusted trans-person is being represented, it's like they pick the ones that will be most entertaining. I mean what other trans people are in the media?

There is a spectrum of transgender, yet we only see either the beautiful completely believable transitioned woman because society can deal with that, or the joke trans-woman. It upsets me that Kellie let herself in for that.

 She is still at the beginning of her journey and probably quite vulnerable.

Whenever being interviewed or reviewed in any way, trans -people have a responsibilty to not be put in that situation and not be taken advantage of. It's counter productive.

Is there anyone out there who you feel does it right?

Have you heard of Laverne Cox? She's in a show called Orange is the new Black. She is an amazing advocate for trans-people. She went on the Wendy Williams show and Wendy Williams proceeded to ask her really crude and thoughtless questions. She pointed out the size of Laverne's feet and asked her about her surgery.

But Laverne handled it perfectly; she was really centered and politely said she chooses not to talk about those subjects as it marginalises people's perceptions of trans-people and there's so much more to discuss. In the past she's pointed out the unemployment situation for trans-people in America among other things. There's no one else talking about these subjects.

Wendy Willaims attitude takes on the assumption that as a transgender person your situation is public knowledge. But it's no-ones right to know.


I'll definatley look Laverne up, she sounds amazing! What was her full name again?

Laverne Cox. Unfortunate really isn't it? She might as well turn up and say 'Hi, my name's Amanda Sexchange!' 

Hahahaha! Love it!

-

At this point we had finished our tea and Grace had to leave for a photo shoot inspired by Donatella Versace (Think gallons of fake tan huge lips and giant sunglasses. It sounds like a hoot!)

I'm so pleased we both got so much out of working together and had such fun doing it too! I hope this project has helped inform de-mystify and entertain you as much as the two of us!

Gemma***

My current work up at Cornerhouse

Grace poses in front of her finished portrait

It's been just over two weeks since my work celebrating transgender femininty inspired by the Pre Raphaelites has been on show at Cornerhouse as part of Cornerhouse Projects.

 

The private view went really well with a great turn out including friends family and members of the transgender and gay community. Grace arrived with her mum in tow and I'm proud to say got a little emotional as I took her round all the pieces. 

One of the main things I wanted to do in this project was focus on Grace as a person and show her in a way that would highlight her strengths and uniqueness. I wanted to show Grace as an individual, not as a transgender character. Even though this project involved the use of drag, as I have learned, it is just another way of exploring who you are, and I think certainly in this case it helped to emphasise the softer side of Grace, a side she doesn't often see in herself.

Some of the chalk studies of Grace in Pre Raphaelite drag and with no make up at all. In both cases her unique femininity shine through

 The show runs alongside the work of Layla Sailor whose beautiful work also explores female iconography

People have responded really well telling me it's great to see art that has a positive message and I'm really glad to have had the opportunity to explore a subject I knew so little about with such an interesting and lovely muse. I feel that if this has helped to melt away just a little of the stigma or preconceptions society holds about being transgender then that would be a great acheivement. 

Grace in her gilded frame with butterfly details. I named the portrait 'La Donna Della Grazia' meaning The Woman Of Grace as a tribute to Dante Gabriel Rossetti who was and is a constant inspiration

The exhibition is up until 9th Sept at the Cornerhouse cafe/bar Manchester

Grace in the frame!

Yesterday I explained how I was getting the frame I'd designed for Grace's Pre Raphaelite portrait delivered to the studio and it arrived courtesy of Tom the carpenter this afternoon. I absolutely love it! Here it is with the portrait in situ.

As you can see it has a wide flat surface and little roundals in each corner. The roundals are going to have small wooden butterflies placed inside. The butterflies are there to continue the theme of the painting. This being a celebration of transgender femininty, the butterfly is a symbol of transformation and beauty which I think is very fitting.

I based my design on frames that had been designed by Pre Raphaelite artists to enhance their art work and show it off it it's best advantage. Nature; flowers, animals and insects were a usual sorce of inspiration in the symbolism they used.

A detail of the frame for Holman Hunt's The Scapegoat showing Heartsease and Egyptian Palms to reflect the story of the Scapegoat

 

This weekend I will cover the frame in gold metal leaf so it will look something like the frames you can see above. Sumptuous, yet simple and stylised. I think it will look gorgeous! Once again thanks to Tom for making such a wonderful job of my frame. 

 

This work along with several chalk studies of Grace will be exhibited at the Cornerhouse from 31st July next week until 9th Sept. There will be drinks in the bar 6-7pm  on Thursday so come along and say hi and see the finished thing!

Gemma ***

A trip to the framers...

Last week I took a trip to Frames in Didsbury to get some of the chalk studies I've done of Grace Oni Smith framed for the upcoming exhibition at Cornerhouse next week.

 I don't usually frame my work so this was a whole new experience for me. I went in and asked for 'some gold frames please'. I never realised you had to think about cool and warm tones when chosing mounts and frames, and consider colours that would enhance and not overpower the art work. The lady at Frames was so lovely and helped me choose a frame and mount combination that was contemporary but with a nod to the classic style you find in art galleries.

The reason I was so sold on gold is because I am having a frame made specially for my painting of Grace which is inspired by Pre Raphaelite designs, and I want this golden theme to continue throughout the work. I got very excited today as I got some photos of how the frame was coming along from Tom the carpenter who is the go to man around Manchester for all your carpentry art needs!

You can't see it yet but it will eventually look like this rough sketch I did.

Like the frames often designed by the Pre Raphaelites to best show off their work, this frame has a symoblic purpose to enhance the message in the painting it will surround. More to tell about this tomorrow, as the finished thing is being delivered to the studio. I can't wait to see it and show you!

Gemma***

Girl with a curl, or two

So this week the end finally looks in sight, and I have to say I am loving working on this portriat of Grace Oni Smith my beautiful transgender muse! I really really love this picture! This week I have been finishing off her hands and tattoos and filling in her masses of hair. Nothing says Pre Raphaelite goddess like a head full of glorious tresses.

I enjoy painting hair very much and this was no exception. There's are still a few little highlights and definitons to be added but this crown of curls is the definative statement of the painting. Next to add is the rose in her hair and just a suggestion of clothes (if you know Grace you'll know that's about usual for her. See her perform live if you don't know what I mean!)

I cannot wait for my specially designed frame to be made to finish this piece off once she is fully painted! Now I still have a few drawings to tackle and a trip to the framers for those. So keep posted and remember to put 31st of July in your diaries as this is the opening night for this work Cornerhouse.

More soon...

Gemma***