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§ Jo Brocklehurst (1935-2006) Obedience is Slavery - A Punk Couplesigned and dated 'BROCKLEHURST / 1982' (lower left)mixed media83 x 59cmProvenance:With Francis Kyle Gallery, LondonAs the ‘illegitimate’ daughter of a prominent Sri Lankan politician growing up in Dorset in the 1930s and 1940s, Jo Brocklehurst understood what it meant to be considered an outsider. It is, perhaps, no surprise, then, that the subjects she favoured were exclusively and emphatically marginal – contemporary cryptids plucked from the cultural demiworld of late-20th century society.At fourteen, Brocklehurst was awarded a scholarship to train at Central Saint Martins where she was tutored by esteemed fashion illustrator, Elizabeth Suter. Upon the completion of her studies, Brocklehurst worked as a magazine and costume illustrator, although, unfulfilled by this commercial work, it was not long before she became a familiar fixture of London’s countercultural scene and could often be found sketching ferociously from the dimly lit corners of squats or fringe nightclubs. Consumed by her desire to experience and learn more about fringe culture, between her time in London Brocklehurst spent extended periods in New York City, Berlin, Amsterdam and Salzburg.At a time when the new romantic, punk and fetish subcultures were still considered to be hugely transgressive, Brocklehurst’s drawings serve as a valuable and fascinating archive of lives that were otherwise ignored. In her subversive and dynamic portraiture, Brocklehurst perfectly distils the anarcho-punk lifestyle and makes heroes and heroines of those usually found on the peripheries.

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