The Amy Winehouse exhibition “Amy: Beyond the Stage” at the Design Museum will make you feel all types of emotions about the London icon.
The intimate exhibition of the singer/songwriter’s personal items, including clothes and shoes she has worn, handwritten notes and recordings that haven’t been heard before will make you feel like you knew Amy your whole life.
Iconic Amy
As soon as you walk into the exhibition you are greeted with a huge screen displaying the singer’s iconic live performances to be heard throughout the whole exhibition.
The next thing you notice is the street signs from Winehouse’s home which are covered in messages from fans after her death, making you realise how loved she was and still is. One message on there being “RIP Amy, love you always”
Even though we are celebrating her success there’s also a noticeable atmosphere of sadness throughout the museum. Her best-known guitars that she played hang silent on walls, her famous dresses and outfits on mannequins including the last dress she wore for what was to be her last performance.
Many of Winehouse’s dresses are on loan after being sold at auction this November in Los Angeles. All profits from both auction and exhibition are going straight to the Amy Winehouse Foundation.
Emotion On Display
The handwritten notes were definitely heart touching. To read an 18-year-old Winehouse’s thoughts and doodles about her life ambitions and rare lyrics makes you feel instantly upset that this woman of such talent and rareness had her life cut way too short.
It makes you wonder what sort of material she would have put out in this day and age.
The exhibition finale is the utterly amazing ‘immersive experience’ which is a mirrored, semi-circular space showing performance footage of Winehouse’s song ‘Tears Dry on Their Own’ from Shepherd’s Bush Empire in 2007.
It is a heartfelt reminder of just how powerful of a voice she had and the insane amount of talent she acquired.
Here is a video of the exhibition in a bit more detail and also some students’ opinions from different courses at UEL on Amy Winehouse’s legacy in this day and age.
All pictures were taken on location by Clarisse Cornish.
