Iconoclastic images at APT Gallery - Don't miss!

Photo by Peter Anderson www.photopeteranderson.com "For me Malc was always entertaining and I hope you remember that," Lydon said in a statement. "Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you." NME

On the night Malcolm McLaren shuffles off this mortal coil, local photographer Peter Anderson opened a retrospective of photographs at APT Gallery in Creekside in a show called Then and There, Here and Now, and this is one of the portraits featured.

Anderson's photographs document the early 80s to today and include portraits made while he was staff photographer at New Musical Express. It's a Who's Who of music, including Madonna, Iggy Pop, Mick Jagger, Tom Waits, Run DMC, Marvin Gaye, Paul Weller, Joe Strummer, Siouxsie Sioux, Bono and Damon Albarn. Among the photos there are early images of Anderson's sojourn in the States documenting early New York hip-hop, next to later pictures of local street scenes.

There is an accompanying publication with an introduction by Paul Morley and prints will be available for sale.

The show runs from now till 2 May, open Thursday-Sundays 12-6pm.

During the exhibition, Anderson will be out on the streets of Deptford recording our own urban street stylee, and has also set up a 'black cube' in the gallery – a dark room where he will demonstrate how he makes his gigantic handmade prints the old fashioned way.

At the private view tonight, the TV actor Danny Webb (who specialises in rather excellent slimey villains) wondered why Anderson did not have a show in town so that he didn't have to come out to the back of beyond to see his work. Perhaps it won't be long, Danny.

And perhaps the Bird's Nest pub should put its hand in its pocket and fund another great local but unknown photographer Michael Tudor to show his own portraits in a complementary exhibit...?

Meanwhile, for one of many obituaries of Malcolm McLaren (who attended but failed/walked away from his degree at Goldsmiths College and 'did better for himself' than those, like me, who actually stayed to get one), see here (NME) and here (Independent) and here (Pop Matters) and here...(search your own)....

Postscript: Transpotine has written an interesting article about McLaren's local connections  here.