This is only a small selection... for more please see Ella's
website
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Statement
and CV
The old rumour around Stuckism HQ was that "Ella Guru use to spank Tory MPs". While this can be neither proven nor disproven, Ms Guru did once frequent clubs such Der Putsch (sp?), Submission and the now very popular Torture Garden. What exactly she did and more importantly who with remains the stuff of legend.
Artist
statement (1999): Ella Guru used
spank the fat arses of geezers wearing rubber masks in Fetish
clubs in London, until she found out all those perverts not only
supported the government but also ran it. So she got out of that
scene, and now amuses herself with gender bending, painting trannies
in beehive wigs. You might ask why? And she'll reply:
"Though
I've always been into dames with dongs, the current series of
paintings began with a picture of the transvestite poet and international
cult figure Sexton Ming. Last summer I continued the series while
in France, and participated in several exhibitions around London,
including the Anarquist Centre in Brixton and the Museum of Pop
Culture in London. This year I have also exhibited at the Fringe
gallery in Newark, New Jersey, near New York City and Getto in
Amsterdam, where the Amsterdam Gay News named me 'painter of the
year.'
"I
enjoy gender confusion and delight in nothing more than to lift
up a gal 's skirt only to discover a sundial."
Miss
Guru is a founding member of Stuckism, as well as their webmistress.
Rumours that she walks on the bollocks of other Stuckists wearing
6" stiletto heels are wishful thinking by other members of
the group.
She
was actually quite famous for a while as a member of almost-pop
group 'Voodoo Queens' (on Big Breakfast, The Beat, Peel Sessions
and Raw Soup). She now plays with Sexton Ming and is also in his
band 'The Tasty Ones' who play in the Dublin Castle, Camden etc.
She plays as well with the Tropics of Cancer, but only in a musical
sense. Romours that Miss Guru and She Rocola have been spotted
getting their tits out at cocktail parties in Camden could possibly
be true.
Updated
November 2002:
These days Ms Guru, now aka Mrs Ming, is lending her obsessive
tendencies to large waterfowl, swapping the wild life for wildlife.
When asked if she is selling out, Ms Guru replied that she is
just as excited by ducks, geese and pelicans as by men in drag,
confirming Quentin Crisp's comment that Ms Guru is indeed "weird".
Ms
Guru and her husband Sexton Ming have been frequenting Clissold
Park in Stoke Newington, as well as travelling further afield
for inspiration. They have been bird-watching in the Danube Delta
in Romania, though they confesses not to be a professional birdwatchers;
they just likes large waterfowl. Pelicans are native to the Delta
as well as to Florida, but the most prima donna pelicans you will
ever meet reside in St James Park, London; anyone who has ever
seen the five Great White birds prance and preen will have to
agree they are the drag queens of the bird kingdom. Not even Black
Swans or Canada Geese dare to start a fight with those pelicans.
What
next? Combining wildlife with drag queens just might be on the
agenda; Ms Guru was recently spotted in Highgate Wood photographing
the (un)natural heir to Quentin Crisp, a young camp individual
known as Dickon.
"Painter
of the Year" - Getto, Amsterdam Pride 1999
"an
exceptional artist" - Amsterdam Gay News
"totally
crap" (or something like that) - Time Out, known for mistaking
bags of garbage for art.
Born:
24.5.66, Ohio, USA Education: Fort Hayes Career Centre, Columbus College of
Art and Design, Ohio State University (BA Fine Arts), Printmaking
at Morley College London Solo Exhibitions: First Out, London WC2; Manto's cafe,
London W1; Getto, Amsterdam; Waldos on High, Columbus, Ohio; for
group shows see CV. Prizes: "Painter of the Year" - Getto, Amsterdam
Pride, "Travel writer of the month" - Worldsurface.com. Other activities: was a member of 'Voodoo Queens' pop group:
performed on The Beat and Peel Sessions; Now plays guitar in The
Tasty Ones, The Deptford Beach Babes and The Tropics of Cancer.
Certified Open Water Scuba Diver.
Update
2007: Ella organised the successful Stuckist stall at the
Affordable Art fair in 2004. She exhibited at The
Stuckists Punk Victorian, a major 5 month show at The Walker Art Gallery, during the 2004 Liverpool Biennial,
as well as in the Go West show at Spectrum London in 2006.
She had a solo show at Faxon Ptootch in Camde, London NW1 in 2005. Ms Guru is continuing to paint and exhibit, as well as playing
guitar in her band the Deptford Beach Babes. Rumours that she has returned to a fetish club for the first time in 17 years are unconfirmed (however, we can report that no politicians were harmed in this instance).
She has exhibited at A Gallery where she will also participate in the forthcoming Stuckist group show in July 2007.
