YMC present Bat Girls & Acid Boys - a limited edition t-shirt collaboration.

The images on these t-shirts are part of an original collection of spontaneous drawings made by Leigh Bowery and his friends, at Richard Torry’s flat in Old Compton Street, Soho between 1983 and 1993. They were recently discovered in the Richard Torry Archive. The remaining collection of drawings will be published in ‘Bat Girls and Acid Boys’, an upcoming book by Jonny Trunk.

Richard’s flat sat in the heart of Soho, at a time when the area was about to explode creatively, becoming an epicenter of joy and a new progressive club culture. There he created a friendly space - a small improvised studio which became the perfect location for London’s burgeoning art, fashion and club scenes to congregate in the daytime, before or after a night out.

Richard would encourage his guests to play Exquisite Corpse using old scrap paper. Starting with an improvised name - say “Acid Boy” or “Bat Girl” - written at the bottom, the paper would be passed around the room, with each person adding a body part (head, torso, legs) and folding as they went to keep it hidden. Eventually the complete figures would be unfolded and revealed, with often hilarious results. The games were played through the classic Taboo period, right up until Leigh died in 1994.

The resulting drawings perfectly capture the essence of the club and fashion scenes at the time, as well as hinting at many of the artists themselves. Each drawing was spontaneous and put together by multiple hands, including many who were central to London’s creative scene at the time (and several who continue to be).