Sebastian Horsley: Viktor Wynd Fine Art

On the occasion of the second anniversary of the death of Sebastian Horsley “the greatest dandy of all time”, Viktor Wynd Fine Art presents an exhibition of his life and work.

The exhibition takes the form of a shrine to his life, in all its excess and self-revelry.  We are presented with relics found in Horsley’s flat after his death from a heroin overdose. These include an address book with “Whores” scrawled on the cover, house keys, used syringes, a human arm and a present from Horsley to Johnny Rotten which he reportedly salvaged from a bin after Rotten had disposed of it. It also features a video of his crucifixion in the Philippines – perhaps his most notorious work.

In the room next door hang Horsley’s paintings which he self-professed as being terrible. Here he is mostly right, although one does catch my eye – what looks like a smudged oil painting with a large skeletal crucifix painted over the top. This is an exhibition not about any kind of skilled art, but the larger project of this man’s life. The artefacts and detritus left over merely draw an outline of the larger picture, offering more questions than they answer. 

The evening convened with readings from Horsley’s book Dandy in the Underworld (a meandering suicide note of purple aphorisms) and a party to the soundtrack of Horsley’s favourite music and gin flowing freely courtesy of Hendrix. 

Oliver Dickens

The Sebastian Horsley exhibition runs until 1^st September at The Last Tuesday Society, Hackney.