On December 13, Shepard Fairey and British photographer Dennis Morris will open their collaborative exhibition entitled "S.I.D (Superman Is Dead)" at Subliminal Projects in Los Angeles. The show honors Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious who died in 1979 at the age of 21, but not affecting the lives of many with his image and persona, including Shepard Fairey.
Fairey and Morris's exhibition features photographs, prints, and paintings inspired by the musician as well as a full replica of a hotel room that he trashed "in a fit of intoxication, rage and depression" during the 1977 S.P.O.T.S. (Sex Pistols On Tour Secretly) tour. During the reception, Billy Idol, Steve Jones, Leigh Gorman, and Clem Burke will perform a musical tribute together as "Ritchie Love" (Vicious was born John Simon Ritchie), a rare event that will likely never happen again.
Of the punk rocker, Fairey said, "Sid was everything the Superman, anti-hero, or cliché of a nihilistic movement called for...Sid remains one of punk’s most enduring icons even if he is a classic example of style over substance." He added about the project that he thought he had "retired him as a subject until Dennis Morris-the photographer of the most intimate and iconic shots of Sid-approached me about a collaboration. Dennis’s archive provided an amazing treasure trove of Sid images to work from in creating the paintings and prints in the “Superman Is Dead” show. I’m so glad I got to do Dennis’s Sid images “My Way”! I can now retire Sid as a subject. I’ve worked with the best, I can skip the rest."
The exhibition runs through January 11. For more information about it and the once-in-a-lifetime tribute, head to the "S.I.D (Superman Is Dead) exhibition page.
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