Purple (August)

August is a little time since the deaths of Bowie and Prince, musical adventurers of vast exposure who created their images in managerial style. We were drawn into their contrived fantasies, but kept at a permanent distance. Their spectacle was incessant, in keeping with capitalist production. Bowie was every colour, a thin white duke in red shoes dancing the blues. Prince made a signature of purple. Spectacle was used to express changing personal identity, yet their distance was essential for success. They were signs of change, but grief at their deaths was grief for ourselves and our own passing youth.