Jo Brocklehurst – in her studio

Jo Brocklehurst – in her studio

The exhibition Baanbrekers/Trailblazers includes nine works by Jo Brocklehurst. This is a small part of her impressive oeuvre and to highlight and present her work and her working method, we are very pleased to be showing the documentary by award-winning filmmaker Cheryl Robson in the exhibition.

This was the earliest documentary by award-winning filmmaker Cheryl Robson. She made the film independently while she was working at the BBC. It is now a cultural record of 1980s punks and an extraordinary female artist. Brocklehurst’s subjects were not only punks but transsexuals and LGBTQI+ individuals, often larger than life. Akin to Egon Schiele, her drawings took shape in her studio, in squats or in the gay clubs of London, Berlin and New York. For forty years she captured the spirit of alternative culture in her work. Brocklehurst was given a retrospective show at the House of Illustration, St Martin’s in 2017 where this film, the only film record of her and her work, was screened. Brocklehurst’s work is also in the V & A Museum and is now collected by discerning investors.

Robson’s other films include the feature documentary ‘Rock n Roll Island, where legends were born’ about the music heritage of Eel Pie Island in South London. It was broadcast on BBC4 in 2020 and named a Sunday Times Critics Choice programme. Robson is also an award-winning playwright, a leading indie publisher and founder of Aurora Metro Books. She has published over 200 books by diverse international writers from over 20 languages. Last year, Robson hit the headlines with the unveiling of a bronze statue of Virginia Woolf by sculptor Laury Dizengremel, following her successful 5-year campaign to raise over £50,000 to commission and erect the artwork. Robson is based at indie bookstore Books on the Rise in Richmond which she co-owns.

Read more about the exhibition