Axl Rose Was My Neighbor

Visual Artist Laura London is premiering a new exhibit titled "Axl Rose Was My Neighbor."

Here is the story behind this picture.

"Well, that's a funny story because actually he was my neighbor in Los Angeles in the late 1980's, early 90's. I was living in Laurel Canyon, an area of Los Angeles, and at the time he was married to Erin Everly.

There was a Rock journalist, who lived behind me in the guesthouse, and Axl Rose lived two houses up the hill. I was hearing stories about him and different things that happened all the time from this journalist, but I didn't really see him.

Then one day I heard they were having a fight and that he threw the wedding ring in the bushes - and that he graffitied his garage. He took the lyrics from his song and then he twisted it because he was having a fight with his wife at that time.

So I took a photograph because it was just like this sick poetry. I guess being in Los Angeles it was just funny at that time…tragic, but it was also funny.

And I took a photograph of it and his wife came home, when I was shooting and she's asked: 'Who are you working for?' and I replied: 'I'm not working for anyone,' because I don’t do paparazzi. And then I put the photograph away.

I think I showed it to my art dealer and I showed it to my brother and that was it. It was kind of this joke that he was my neighbor and I just put it away for years.

Then I was thinking about what to do for my next series. After the 'Rock Star Moment' series was well received and critically successful in the gallery venues, I wanted to further that idea. Each series grows organically out of the previous series with my work.

I produced a permanent public art installation for the MTA in Los Angeles (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) dealing with locations of rock n' roll history. I expanded my level of production to execute that project by using an assistant/intern, scouting locations, and working like a filmmaker. So I took that method from working on the grant project and incorporated it for another series.

I made a whole series of work based on this sick graffiti from Axl Rose's song, 'Sweet Child O’ Mine,' and did a whole new series of images and portraits, constructed just inspired by that image."

Thirsty