!Wowow! is acollective inPeckham,London.[1] Otherwise known asThe Children of !Wowow!, they are a group of artists, fashion designers, writers and musicians, who have promoted numerous art events and parties in London and Berlin.[2]
!Wowow! began in the back of the Joiners Arms inCamberwell in 2003 as a performance night in a pub by Hanna Hanra andMatthew Stone. In 2004, the collective squatted a largeVictorian co-op in Peckham South East London and made it into anartist-run space. They include fashion designerGareth Pugh,[3]performance artistMillie Brown, video installation artistAdham Faramawy, James Balmforth and artistMatthew Stone. Other artists to have shown in the space includeBoo Saville, Gareth Cadwallader, Florence & The Machine'sIsabella Summers and Ellie Tobin.[4]
In 2003, !Wowow! organised warehouse parties inPeckham.[5] At times club nights with 2000 people took place.[3] One of these was attended byLauren Bush, the former U.S. President's niece, and her twoCIA bodyguards.[3]
The second show by the collective in December 2004 was of paintings, film, photography and performance by recentSlade graduates for a month in theGeorgian building at 251 Rye Lane, Peckham, formerly occupied by theCo-op shop, which the artists gutted and refurbished.[6] The artists, who curated the exhibition together, includedChloe Dewe Mathews with photographs oflidos,Matthew Stone with digital recreations of old paintings, Rachael Haines with surrealist inspired collages and Boo Saville with monkey paintings andbiro drawings.[6] The opening featuredshamanistic chanting, a shopping Trolley Mardi Gras, live bands and a recreation ofMichael Jackson's videoThriller byperformance artistLali Chetwynd's troupe.[6]
In November 2005, the Children of !Wowow! organised a week-long event in a large warehouse in Peckham, curated by member Gareth Cadwallader, and in a number of smaller venues in the area, featuring members of the collective and alsoMark McGowan.[4] Events includedStolen Cinema with cult films from a local rental shop, Richard Elms' playFactory Dog, and aGreasy Spoon Art Salon Breakfast presided over by Lali Chetwynd and Zoe Brown.[4] he week culminated with a party for 1,500 people, with 10,000 bottles of beer, 500 bottles ofwhiskey, and 13 live bands on stage. The bands included The So Silage Crew, Ludes, The Long Blondes, and Ivich Lives.[4]
The Amazing squat created its own "distinctly odd harlequin-esque fashion style", through Gareth Pughs' participation.[3] Hanna Hanra and Katie Shillingford editedFashion/ Art/ Leisure, a fanzine affiliated with the group.[7]
Matthew Stone said:
It was an opportunity to invest in what we believed in, rather than chipping off bits of our soul working as unpaid interns. The practicalities of not having to work meant that we could be playful with what we did, but some serious ideas came out of that ridiculous house.[3]
Since the Imperials left their original building in 2006, they have organised events in Dresden and also squatted a Kwik Fit Garage in Camberwell for an exhibition. Millie Brown andAdham Faramawy have organised several art and music events. These have included an event in March 2007 in Birmingham. Along with the original group, several other artists and performers exhibited, includingTheo Adams,Ben Schumacher,Lennie Lee, and Fayann Smith.
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