Wear: The Gallery {Lights of Soho}

 

I really should spend more time with Soho. Going there is like when you have your iPod on shuffle and this disco-great comes on, that you completely forgot you even had and you realise that you should be listening to it all the time. Love me some Soho. Get in those grooves.



The ‘God’s Own Junkyard’ exhibition at Lights of Soho celebrates the work of the late neon-sign maker Chris Bracey. The pieces address Soho’s hedonistic side: ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’, ‘Sexy’, ‘Love’ and even ‘Sex, Drugs and Bacon Rolls’ shine off walls. Bracey was commissioned to produce work for Eyes Wide Shut, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and four Batman films but it was in Soho that Bracey made his name. At one point, he was the main producer of neon signage for the area’s famous sex shows.

Yet it’s not sordid – it’s carnivalesque. The vibrant designs can be enjoyed in themselves, as a celebration of colour, light and indulgence. As I looked at a fluorescent ‘Lucky’  above an old bicycle, a little girl ran up to statue of Christ on a pedestal of lights: "Look at Jesus, Mum!"

Upstairs, the walls are plastered in signs but when you step into the basement, the pieces become sparser. It feels a bit like a storage area. Perhaps the most arresting piece is a neon-framed mirror in the shape of a coffin, a reminder of Bracey’s absence.


I decided to channel Bracey's enthusiasm for Americana today. I call this ensemble: 'because there is nothing more Rock n Roll than novelty knitwear.' Take notes, Jagger.



{Srunchie, American Apparel. Shirt, ASOS. Cardigan, ASOS.
Jeans, Topshop. Socks, Topshop. Shoes, Converse}

Speaking of Disco greats - Pointer Sisters' Jump.