The Artist Known as LEZ ~ACRYLIC ENIGMA~ POP ICONS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

    The Artist Known as LEZ  

~ACRYLIC ENIGMA~

                                 

      POP ICONS OF THE 20TH CENTURY      

Lez Ingham is a sharp-suited, dark haired, purple tinted spec wearing, Central African artist who is strong and confident enough to go by just the one name, LEZ. A citizen of the world, she is based in the UK but can just as easily be found sunning herself with a girlfriend on a beach in the Maldives or Mykonos, lunching in London or languishing on a picnic rug sipping Champagne on the lawn at the Glyndebourne Festival. She is as serious as a pinstripe suit but possesses a bold sense of humour and playfulness. She is just as likely to attend the opening of a new nightclub dressed head- to-toe in a rubber wet suit, and pull it off with ease and elan, as she is to be seen exploring the great English countryside dressed impeccably in equestrian gear. She swam across the crocodile infested Zambezi with her cousins and without fear as a child and has been known to exclaim, “Ahh! Beauty! This Coke-a-Cola is cold enough to crack your teeth!”

Her work reflects her love of pop culture, colour, music and bigger than life people, places and things. Her paintings of comic book Superheroes and international entertainment icons all reference strength and individuality. She does not work-to-order but her work is ordered and on the day we meet up she receives a call from Paris, “We want your Grace Jones!”     

 “Feeling like a woman, looking like a man”    

PJ: So tell me Lez, your careers have been many and mainly to do with publishing, advertising and the arts. When did you first venture into these fields and how?

LEZ: I’ve enjoyed a variety of careers. The essential ingredient for all them has been a keen interest in the detail of life unfolding around me.

I obtained a BA honours in Graphic Design at Kingston-on-Thames University in London, after which freelanced as a graphic designer for a year.

I then moved to Cape Town where I produced and directed documentary films for a decade. 

After Cape Town, I returned to the UK and set up a graphic design business. I began painting in 2002 following the death of my parents; it was a natural outlet for the overwhelming grief that I felt.

I was born in a small town in Zambia during a ferocious African thunderstorm. Minutes before, there was a blackout; the electrics blew, leaving the town in darkness. Apparently, I came out like a champagne cork.

I had a wonderful childhood in Africa, my parents would sometimes take the train down to Cape Town, or we’d drive down through the most amazing terrain, where herds of elephants, kudu, zebra and prides of lions would be metres away from of the car.

PJ: Can you recall what experiences might have served as an inspiration for your direction in life?

LEZ: I was obsessed with drawing and painting, at school my desk would be constantly surrounded by other kids watching me. I fantasized being an illustrator, a fine artist, a men’s fashion designer or a film maker.

My parents loved to travel, when I was 12 we visited London, I fell in love with its history, culture and architecture. It was London that inspired me and fuelled my pursuit of a career in art. After London we flew to the USA and New York blew my mind. We stayed in an amazing hotel, with fantastic views of the city. We visited Staten Island, the Empire State building, Times Square and the Statue of Liberty.

We travelled by car across The United States visiting Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Palm Springs, Las Vegas and the rest and we crossed Canada and through its large cities too.

The cities were mind blowing; Disneyland, massive billboards, motels, drive-in movies, ice cream parlours, burger joints and shopping malls. The hotels/motels had twinkling swimming pools, multiple television stations 24hrs a day. We had a TV in the car and my sister and I just loved it.

Niagara Falls was a disappointment though, as Victoria Falls in Africa left Niagara’s size in the shade. “This is just a trickle.” My dad said, and he was right!

North America, especially the USA was a colourful visual inspiration to me, and I believe a seed was planted in terms of my attraction to Pop Art.

“I never expected to be anyone important”

PJ: So the great graphics of the era and the expansive vistas of America imprinted on your young creativity. Your work is of wide appeal though and collected by art lovers internationally. What other landscapes and cultures played into that aspect of your vision and direction?  

LEZ: Well, meanwhile, across the pond, a stark contrast was ‘happening’ in London; Beatlemania, LSD, Mary Quant, miniskirts, Mini cars, Vidal Sassoon, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton, psychedelic art, and Carnaby Street, to name but a few.

When I reached London at 17, it was almost over. However, a revolution had begun and there was no going back; art, fashion, music and a whole range of design options were opening up to people; Habitat, Biba, Hard Rock Cafe, Chelsea, Sloan Square and the Fulham Road. I loved London; I lapped it up.

At that time I also returned to Africa three times a year during the holidays, where I had an off-road motorbike and would set off with my binoculars, paints, pencils, crayons, music and camera to capture the wonderful light, grass hut villages, colourful market stalls and smiling people.

The contrast was absolutely phenomenal.  

“She Loves You”: Large 3 Dimensional Installation

Detail: "She Loves You"

PJ: What around you today in the world today attracts your eye and thoughts?

LEZ: I am totally inspired by the present; science, technology and the race towards knowledge in this eye-opening 21st Century. I feel we are embarking on a new Renaissance.

The political wars and terrorist organisations erupting around the Middle East and across parts of Africa are a knee jerk reaction to progress. I think these religious extremists are suffering from ‘information meltdown’ and their desperate attempt to drag us back into the medieval times stems from fear.

I don’t think religion has a place in modern society. Science is the way forward and with technology racing ahead; it’s a very exciting time to be alive right now.

PJ: What format does your work take today and what is your most enjoyable way to exhibit?

LEZ: My paintings tend to be large multi layered pop art constructions. I like to bring my subject matter to life. I don’t like the constraint of frames. Instead, I like to create shadows when they are hung, giving them an almost 3 dimensional aspect.

Up until recently, I’ve always managed to organise my own exhibitions, wherever they may be, be it a small gallery or restaurant in a quaint corner of Sussex or in London. In the last few years artists have been creative in finding alternative spaces and venues to exhibit in. For instance, with the down turn in the economy in recent years artists have hung works and had great success in vacant retail spaces and commercial property. However, it’s getting increasingly difficult to find spaces to show. Greed has stepped into the commercial property market, and empty shops insist on at least a 6 months rental.

“Sometimes you have to be a bitch to get things done”

“I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir”

PJ: What is the current UK climate like for artists then in light of our economy? 

LEZ: Strained really PJ. It’s a shame artists don’t get more support, like in Germany or Holland. The Arts are no longer given much funding in this country; in fact the new Secretary of State for Education recently advised students to think twice about selecting a career in the arts.

PJ: You are known for your love of superheroes and your most recent is Pop Icons of the 20^th Century. What attracts you to these subjects?

LEZ: They’re camp and fearless! I’ve lived my life as a gay, out-and-proud woman. Superheroes represent a bold self belief to me as do the world’s larger than life rock and pop goddesses and gods; Elvis, Annie Lennox, Madonna the Material Girl and the fierce Grace Jones, I love ‘em all and their strength of character and brave individuality. I have a particular superhero that I most identify with, Voodoo, she makes it her business to hunt down dangerous villains across the globe.

Voodoo also works as a stripper at Second Skin, a nightclub in Miami.

Chica Rendozzo, the woman brandishing the gun, is a power broker and has created a deadly virus. Voodoo needs to find a cure before she unleashes it on mankind. 

 “Voodoo”

PJ: What sort of art buyer does your work tend to appeal to?

LEZ: The type of client who buys my work tends to be quite astute and a large proportion of my buyers and collectors are gay. They’re normally quite wealthy, as my paintings are large, some, like She Loves You are massive installations and none of them come cheap.

 “Feminism is a word I identify with”    

 “I’m just a musical prostitute dear”

PJ: Tell pleasureseeker.me what your next body of work will be and what will influence its creation? 

LEZ: I want to rip it all to shreds; all the lies and untruths. Right now I’m receiving energy and exploding like a sponge! I am constantly tuned into media like the BBC World Service and international news absorbing the developments of extremism. As I said earlier, there is, all around us, an ongoing battle between evil and good. Technology and science are unmasking ancient and inhumane religious doctrine and dragging dark, cruel religious myths out into the true light of day. I want to depict this process.

We are in a new renaissance that clashes with religious extremism. We live in a culture now of abject fear and constant threat of retribution and impractical and long ago outmoded extremist beliefs are fighting to drag us back into the darkest of dark ages. Intolerance is at war with the enlightened.

My next body of work will be to juxtapose the two; the imagery of truth-hating evil against the imagery of the new renaissance of enlightened minds and positive global consciousness.

I want to pull all this male dominated extremist bollocks to pieces and show it up for what it is.

The imagery will be contentious and I’ll be treading on dangerous ground but I want to push boundaries and make all these characters look as ridiculous as possible.

So my next direction will be post pop art expression of the fight between evil and good.

I see Putin realised in my next work as a closeted Dr. Strangelove type of despot.    

  To learn more on the works of LEZ visit musiconwalls.com

    Lez

   “Cherchez la femme”

     To learn more on the works of LEZ visit musiconwalls.com

PETER JARRETTE IS AN ARTIST AND INTERNATIONALLY PUBLISHED AUTHOR OF     SEVERAL FICTION, NON-FICTION AND MEMOIR ADULT TITLES AND CHILDREN'S BOOKS. HE IS A COLUMNIST AND CELEBRITY INTERVIEWER.