As Judy Blame – Available Nowhere opens in Glasgow, its curators Karlie Shelley and Stephanie Nash shine a light on the show
On Friday, an exhibition devoted to the work of Judy Blame opened at the SWG3 event space in Glasgow, as part of Glasgow International 2018 – Scotland’s largest festival for contemporary art. Arriving just over two months since the legendary accessories designer, art director and fashion stylist’s passing, Judy Blame – Available Nowhere features a selection of his oeuvre including collages and of course jewellery, largely curated by Judy himself, prior to his death.
It was Hugo Scott – Marc Jacobs’ Director of Public Relations and Special Projects, as well as a photographer and friend of Judy’s – who originally invited him to stage an exhibition at SWG3. Judy accepted and started putting things together but, realising he might not see it through to completion, entrusted his plans to his right-hand woman Karlie Shelley and his collaborator of 35 years, Stephanie Nash. Here, Shelley and Nash discuss this exhibition and their much-loved friend, Judy.
Judy Blame – Available Nowhere
When did you start working on this exhibition?
Stephanie: Well Judy started talking about it last year, mentioning what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it.
Karlie: Yeah, he had an idea of how he wanted it and relayed that to us, saying he potentially might not be here for it.
Stephanie: I think in the beginning he thought he’d be around to curate it quite tightly but then, as time went on, he realised he probably wouldn’t be able to see it through. He had a list of things he really wanted to do and this exhibition was very high on his list. So, Karlie and I felt really strongly that we had to do it as close to what he wanted.
What did he want?
Stephanie: He chose all the jewellery. I can’t tell you why he chose those pieces but they were all chosen for Glasgow. I don’t know why.
Karlie: I have absolutely no idea either. He just had a Glasgow bag and stuff got thrown in it.
Stephanie: Yeah it was a Glasgow collection and, for whatever reason, it actually made sense when Karlie and I started to look at it all.
Judy Blame – Available Nowhere
What has it been like working on the show, having known him so well?
Karlie: It’s been fairly cathartic. We’ve just been joking about the whole time, you know, ‘This is going on just a bit too easy,’ and we’d be laughing about jewellery and pieces of art falling off the walls. We’ve kept it in quite good humour, which is what he would have wanted. He wouldn’t want us moping around.
Stephanie: I agree. I found it quite a comfort actually.
Do you think he’d be happy with how it looks?
Stephanie: Yes. Everybody that was involved spent so much time with him that we knew what he liked. He was very vocal about what he liked and didn’t like.
Karlie: Yeah, very vocal (laughs).
Stephanie: I had the great honour of working with him for 35 years and we had a very similar aesthetic. When you know somebody so well you can just say, ‘He wouldn’t like that, he wouldn’t like that.’
Judy Blame – Available Nowhere
Which pieces are your personal favourites?
Stephanie: We were talking about this before. The first thing that came to my mind was the black hat which is at the centre of the jewellery wall. He wore it a lot, even though it was quite hard to wear because it’s so heavy. It would fall completely off his head all the time. But he always pulled it off so well, so I think that’s my favourite piece.
Karlie: The rehab collages are really quite important, they go beyond the realm of Judy and are even signed CB, you know, his real name, which makes them even more personal.
And what do you hope people might take away from this exhibition?
Karlie: Judy’s favourite feedback from the ICA show was from a student who said, ‘Oh that was such a great show, I feel like I am going to go home and make something.’ That’s what Judy wanted, for people to be inspired to actually go away and do something tactile with their hands.
Stephanie: I hope people recognise his exceptional talent and what an influence he’s had, from punk days right through to now, on so many different areas within fashion and so many different areas outside it. I hope he gets the recognition he really, really deserves.
