MY MOTHER, CHRISTINE KEELER
An art exhibition about my mother, I am not sure how she would have felt about it.

Christine Keeler is an icon. She must be, there is an art exhibition in her name. Her story represents something, a particular time, a place in history where things changed, and they really needed to change.

In Britain at the start of the 1960s, Victorian values are still mainstream. There is a rich ruling class who are better than everybody else, women are mostly thought of as the property of the men around them and if you are Black, discrimination, IS the culture. I believe the Profumo scandal shone a light on all of that poison and was another step on the road that we are still very much on, to a more equal society.

So, I think in some ways the Profumo scandal was a good thing. But for my mother, I am sure she would say, “What a price I had to pay!”

The truth is, she didn’t set out to hurt the Establishment, or strike a blow for equal rights. She didn’t want to hurt anybody. She was just a young girl who was mostly afraid. So, maybe my mother has an art exhibition in her name today for less lofty reasons. Maybe because there is something about her story that speaks to people. She was young and beautiful. Maybe it’s because of the glamour and her beauty, made extra famous by the photo by Lewis Morley of her sitting on that chair, “With my knickers on” my mum would add.

I was once told very earnestly by an older man, “Christine Keeler was hated by almost everyone, but she was really sexy, and you knew she would do anything in bed”. He felt it was a reasonable assessment of my mother to share with me, because (something I hadn’t realised at the time) Christine Keeler is an icon, because icons aren’t real people. If art can unmask some humanity behind the icon, and bring that icon to life in some way, it may be harder to pass a cruel judgement on Christine Keeler. I hope so.

The more I understand her story, the more it is clear to me that she did not do a single thing wrong. There was no malice in any action, no reason or excuse to judge her poorly, no reason at all to hate her.

So let’s not judge Christine Keeler, let’s see her as a young and beautiful frightened girl. Because she didn’t mind at all when people said how pretty she was, I bet she may even have enjoyed this exhibition!

I want to thank Fionn Wilson for all her hard work, drive, and creative brilliance, she has done my mother a great service with these exhibitions. And also a special thank you to Professor Steve Chibnall, De Montfort University, and all the team here for hosting this event.

Seymour Platt, January 2023

Here is my speech from last nights opening of Scandal ‘63 Revisited at De Montfort University Gallery Leicester - apologies if it is a little long!

It was a great night and a special thank you for all the team at De Montfort University - Hugo, Chris and Dan, and of course Co Curators Fionn Wilson and Steve Chibnall - the exhibition runs at the Leicester Gallery up until 15 April.