What If?

Metropolis:

The City
of

Taboo
11/12/2015

By Eleanor Spence

Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery was an
Australian fashion designer,
model, performance artist and
club promoter based in
London. He was born in
Sunshine, Victoria, Australia,
and moved to London in
1980.
In 1985, Bowery opened his
own nightclub called Taboo,
which served as a meeting
point for all types of people
inspired by freedom of
expression and absolute
disregard for the traditional.

The City of Taboo

The City of Taboo is a chaotic, even from a distance it barely looks like anything
resembling a city. Anyone who approaches it out of curiosity will be quickly taken
aback by the hideous mash of colours and structures laid out before them, and
the further they venture, the more overbearing the city becomes. The houses
have been pulled apart, rearranged, coated in paints and fabrics, each one as
over the top and hideously colourful as its neighbour. Looking at them, you could
hardly say they were houses at all. It is a wonder the buildings stand, and it is
clear little planning was involved in their design. Many stand on columns and
stilts, all in different sizes and made of different materials, all slanted under the
strain of the structure above them. When more room is needed, walls are cut
away and a new room is built onto the side to cover the gaping hole. Splashes
of paint are haphazardly slapped on walls, the windowsills coated in leather and
latex, the curtains that once hung inside have been pulled down, sewn together,
and draped over the rooftops creating a mismatching floral patchwork. Beads,
sequins and charms are sewn on to random pieces of cloth, glued to the walls or
scattered in the streets and front gardens. Taboo is truly the most beautiful mess
of a city.

Influence Map

Concept Art

Production Art

Orthographs

Matte Painting

Final Render

Build-Up

Final Render