Nottingham ContemporaryA fascinating look at the many faces of a model who has posed as warrior, diva and ballerina – and fought her way to the top
Before there was Grace Jones – icon, goddess, warrior, megastar – there was a different Grace, young and awkward. Aged 21 or 22, she greets us through a doorway in an early modelling shot: head tilted appealingly; hair in a polite chignon; a nervous smile.
This Grace Jones is bare shouldered but for two lengths of thick gold chain wound tight around her neck: a clumsy bit of styling, and one that is chokingly uncomfortable. Twenty-one years later, on stage at the Palladium, she will perform Slave to the Rhythm costumed entirely in chains: cowl, dress and long strands of linked metal dangling from cuffs on her wrists. Jones quickly came to understand the power of the image, and has worked it brutally hard for more than 50 years to retain her place in the spotlight.