The 60th anniversary of Britain’s biggest political scandal of the 20th century – the Profumo Affair – is the subject of a new art exhibition opening in London on August 30th.
‘Sex, Lies and Spies’ is a series of thought-provoking images from East End photographer Joe Leslie, which will run at The Brick Lane Gallery, Shoreditch, until September 10th.
Featuring the main protagonists of the 1960s crisis – government minister John Profumo, models Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, socialite Stephen Ward, Russian spy Yevgeny Ivanov, notorious slum landlord Peter Rachman, jazz promoter Johnny Edgecombe and jazz singer Lucky Gordon – Leslie has reimaged the scandal through a unique captivating visual journey, with Keeler being the main subject.
The exhibition explores the entire affair, from 1961 through to the resignation of Profumo in 1963 and Keeler’s court trial.
Leslie spent over a year researching and curating the artwork, which feature an imaginative framework of significant Profumo Affair locations, sensational real-life newspaper headlines and artistic caricatures of the main characters.
As well as observing the two-year story, Leslie also aims to use the exhibition to highlight how Keeler was a victim of the affair.
The 69-year-old said: “The Profumo Affair was a watershed moment in British cultural and political history that brought down the government of the time. But away from the headlines, Christine Keeler was a victim of abuse.
“Christine is still a significant figure in British history yet there is minimal new and exciting artistic reference to her. I wanted to readdress that by creating a visual record of her life, with reinvented iconic images representing themes relevant to newer generations.
“I also hope to raise the profile of domestic and mental abuse through the exhibition as Christine was a vulnerable teenager, abused and discarded by powerful men.”
‘Sex, Lies and Spies’ will include nine images from the series which features 30 in total and is part of The Brick Lane Gallery’s Art in Mind exhibition.
The gallery will be hosting a preview event on Wednesday August 30th from 6pm to 8.30pm.
