Blondes Fine Art
Jo Brocklehurst, Illustration for review of Die Eingeborene, 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. She worked up images like this one overnight for publication the following morning. This illustration accompanied a review of Die Eingeborene, published in Berliner Zeitung on 11 May 1999.
Content warning: sex references
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2005
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, Date unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Karl Oppermann and student at Diskurs festival), 1986
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1986 Brocklehurst visited the Institute of Applied Theatre Studies in Giessen, Germany during Diskurs Festival. She drew Karl Oppermann and his students performing The Crazy Locomotive, a play written by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, Date unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Berlin Rehursell, Play Writer, Achim Frayer, Exstrawdeary, 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. Brocklehurst attended the a rehearsal and performance of the play Die Eingeborene and drew its director, Achim Frayer.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Eryka Isaak), 1995
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Alice from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Kiti Cat, 1976
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Liz de Havilland), 1995
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1988
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Alice from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1986
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1986 Brocklehurst visited the Institute of Applied Theatre Studies in Giessen, Germany during Diskurs Festival. She drew Karl Oppermann and his students performing The Crazy Locomotive, a play written by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Iggy), 1980s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Betty Blue), 1994
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2001
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Red Queen from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass) , 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Eve Ferret), 1978
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This portrait of performer Eve Ferret was made around the time Ferret was performing cabaret at London’s Blitz Club with James ‘Biddie’ Biddlecombe.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (White Rabbit from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2003
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Red Queen from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (drawing of Die Eingeborene), 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing is from a performance of Die Eingeborene.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Evening at the Schiller Theatre, 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing may have been made during the interval of a performance of play Die Eingeborene at the Schiller Theatre.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Julian), 1982
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”. This portrait is of Tony Drayton, founder of Kill Your Pet Puppy and punk fanzine Ripped And Torn.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Red Queen from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1983
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (known as Three Graces), 1988
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s Brocklehurst returned to Central Saint Martins as a visiting tutor. She led life drawing classes for fashion and textile students, often employing flamboyant performers as models. Brocklehurst encouraged bold use of scale and colour, as demonstrated by this portrait of a drag performer.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Alice from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass) , 2003
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (White Rabbit from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2003
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Portrait of Colin Swift), c.1976
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Girl, 1976
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Karl Oppermann and student at Diskurs festival), 1986
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1986 Brocklehurst visited the Institute of Applied Theatre Studies in Giessen, Germany during Diskurs Festival. She drew Karl Oppermann and his students performing The Crazy Locomotive, a play written by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1979
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (White Rabbit from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1982
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Eternal Theatra, Date unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Content warning: nudity
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, Date unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Angie), 1984
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”. This portrait is of Tony Drayton, founder of Kill Your Pet Puppy and punk fanzine Ripped And Torn.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, The Night After, 1976
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Anthony Gregory), 1995
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross.
Content warning: strong language
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1982
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1986
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. Brocklehurst began working in New York following an exhibition of her work there in 1983. She took paper and materials to the gay nightclubs of the Meatpacking District, drawing clubgoers like this one. Brocklehurst used neon inks that she could see under the ultraviolet lights.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1980s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (White Rabbit from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (drawing of Die Eingeborene), 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing is from a performance of Die Eingeborene.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1984
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Content warning: nudity
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Isabelle Bricknall and Anthony Gregory), 1995
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross. This portrait is of Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall, whose collection of steel ‘body armour’ (constructed by Anthony Gregory) was designed as ‘protection’ for nights on the fetish scene.
Content warning: strong language
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, Unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (drawing of Die Eingeborene), 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing is from a performance of Die Eingeborene.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Caterpillar from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (White Rabbit from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Alice (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With this image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1984
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1976
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2004
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Duchess from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1986
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. Brocklehurst began working in New York following an exhibition of her work there in 1983. She took paper and materials to the gay nightclubs of the Meatpacking District, drawing clubgoers like this one. Brocklehurst used neon inks that she could see under the ultraviolet lights.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (drawing of the Spiegelzelt), 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This illustration accompanied a review of play Onkel Wanja, published in Berliner Zeitung on 5 May 1999, but is a drawing of the Spiegelzelt, a tent used for talks and evening events.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Brett), 1983
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2002
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1980s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Val Drayton and Lou Challice), 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (drawing of “Ich bin ja so allein”: Reflexionen mit und ohne Klavier), 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing is of a festival event, “Ich bin ja so allein”: Reflexionen mit und ohne Klavier.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1983
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Broken Dolls, Date unknown
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Tony Drayton), 1981
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1980s, Brocklehurst drew a series portraits of members of the Kill Your Pet Puppy collective who were living in a squat close to her studio. Attracted to their anarcho-punk dress and ethos, she said “I felt that they understood very well what was going on in the world, what was in it for them”. This portrait is of Tony Drayton, founder of Kill Your Pet Puppy and punk fanzine Ripped And Torn.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2004
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Josephine Leask), 2000
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 2000, Brocklehurst created a series of drawings in sessions with dancer Josephine Leask. Leask’s 1999 article Welcome to the Club, published in ballettanz magazine, described the ways that nightclubs were acting as alternative theatres for cutting-edge contemporary dance. These drawings were shown as part of Leask’s lecture-performance on the same theme at the 2000 Salzburg Festival.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (portrait of Fia Bergsren), 1995
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross.
Jo Brocklehurst, Evening at the Schiller Theatre, 1999
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In 1999, Brocklehurst was artist in residence at newspaper Berliner Zeitung during Berliner Theatertreffen, a festival of new German theatre. The paper wanted to revive the Weimar tradition of theatre reviews being accompanied by illustrations, rather than using photographs. Brocklehurst drew behind the scenes and from her seat during performances. This drawing may have been made during the interval of a performance of play Die Eingeborene at the Schiller Theatre.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled (Red Queen from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass) , 2000s
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall was the model for this work. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Miss Jacky Worp, 1978
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Untitled, 1984
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes.
Jo Brocklehurst, Cook (from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass), 2003
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. This work is from Brocklehurst Through the Looking-Glass, Brocklehurst’s final series. With an image of herself as a child as the centrepiece, Brocklehurst made hundreds of drawings that re-imagined characters from Lewis Carroll’s Alice novels. Her models were friends and dedicated club-goers who designed and made their own clothes. Works from the series were framed with bright plastic gemstones and hung on every available space at Brocklehurst’s home studio. She used metallic and neon inks that transformed under ultraviolet lights that she switched on for her guests in the evenings.
Jo Brocklehurst, Ruber Angel (portrait of Isabelle Bricknall), 1994
Jo (Josephine) Brocklehurst (1935 - 2006) studied at Central Saint Martins and began her career as a fashion illustrator. She later focused on portraiture, drawing directly from models at her studio in West Hampstead and in nightclubs and theatres in Berlin, London and New York. Her work documents the alternative subcultures of the 1970s, 80s and 90s that went on to shape mainstream fashion and performance scenes. In the 1990s, Brocklehurst began drawing the fashion designers and performers finding space for experimentation in the fetish clubs of Soho and King’s Cross. This portrait is of Brocklehurst’s regular collaborator Isabelle Bricknall, whose collection of steel ‘body armour’ (constructed by Anthony Gregory) was designed as ‘protection’ for nights on the fetish scene.
Content warning: strong language
