Incu

The Kingpins present a collaborative window project to celebrate the launch of their unique new fashion label Birthday Suit at Incu. The installation will be on display throughout September and October at The Galeries Victoria. The all girl art collective from Sydney blend drag, costume and gender exploration to create wild live performances and gallery based installations. As well as participating in biennales in the UK and Asia, the four artists have exhibited at major institutions across Australia and overseas. Their work is a masterful mash-up of mainstream media, pop culture and lip-synching formation dancing. A “drag king” performance can involve anything from hip hop to heavy metal – a playful parody of musical genres in which showgirls of a different kind rock out.

True to Kingpins form, Birthday Suit takes inspiration from costume and live performance. The collection embodies the radicality, humour and performative spirit of The Kingpins. Key garments include a Tasmanian tiger sequined cape, a bird embellished headdress, cobweb crochet catsuit and a collaboration with artist Fiona Lowry featuring an airbrushed Cassowary silk bomber jacket and Harem pant. Pieces from the collection will be available exclusively at Incu in Sydney. The label is also stocked at Masomenos in Paris where Kanye West recently purchased a one-off Kingpins cape.

The main window space at Incu will be used like a stage set complete with Kingpins surreal and evocative aesthetic alongside glittering Birthday Suit garments. The installation will include documentation of a collaborative performance between Beth Ditto (The Gossip) and The Kingpins. The collaboration was born from a stage show at The Demolition Party in The Royal Monceau, Paris in June 2008. The party was held in honour of the destruction of this infamous Parisian landmark. Ditto gave an explosive performance adorned by signature Birthday Suit garments. The Kingpins nominate Beth Ditto as a fantasy pinup for the Incu Window Project. Not surprisingly, The Gossip have also commissioned Birthday Suit costumes for their next tour.

The Kingpins window project: 4th September – 31st October 2008.

Incu city stores, The Galeries Victoria, 500 George Street, Sydney. The Kingpins are represented by Kaliman Gallery, Sydney.

www.thekingpins.com.au

www.birthdaysuit.com.au

Top image: Beth Ditto at The Demolition Party, The Royal Monceau, Paris, June 2008 wearing Birthday Suit Thylacine Shroud and crochet cobweb tube dress. Bottom image: Birthday Suit Cassowary Headdress. Photo: Liz Ham

Kick starting the program for Incu's new city store is graphic designer and illustrator Elke Kramer. Renowned for her whimsical artwork and jewellery, Kramer has a long history of fashion collaborations, having worked with NZ designer Mala Brajkovic, as well as magazines such as Dazed & Confused and Russh. An enchanting vinyl artwork titled Theatre of Absurd & Wondrous Delight graces Incu's windows at The Galeries Victoria. Using her distinct style, Kramer blends theatrical scenes and silhouettes to create an imaginary stage for viewers passing by.

Incu's Paddington store currently features work by Japanese artist Koji Ryui. Using the detritus of contemporary culture, Ryui manipulates drinking straws, postcards, tape and ribbon into surreal manifestations. Everyday objects are transformed into simple yet magical sculptures. Silver structures made from insulation tape rise up from the floor like stalagmites in a cave. Hundreds of tiny polystyrene balls have been used for Ryui's curious Incu installation. Attached to double-sided tape, the snow-white spheres hang in tendrils from a suspended branch framed by the window. Ryui refers to the unravelled roll of tape as a metaphor for life that has a beginning and an end.