Lisa Konno l The Porcelain Body

Beauty

In The Porcelain Body, Konno reflects on ideals of beauty in both Japan and the Netherlands and asks the question: when is a quest for beauty a liberating form of self-expression, and when does it turn into a form of oppression? A confusing boundary explored in a video installation and a series of objects that stand somewhere in between garment and sculpture.

Cultural identity and craftsmanship

Lisa Konno is an outspoken, interdisciplinary maker within fashion design. Her work is colourful, innovative and distinctive. Cultural identity and craftsmanship are two important elements in her work. She tends to treat weighty topics in a light-hearted, humorous way. In recent years, she has often combined this with film. In the documentary/fashion film NOBU, BABA and HENK, fathers with a migration background are asked about their life stories while wearing a collection inspired by their identity.

The Porcelain Body

Our perception of beauty may seem to be an autonomous choice. However, it is almost always influenced by culture, politics and time. Our relationship to the concept of beauty is oppressive as well as liberating. For this exhibition, Konno - in an intuitive way - plays with archetypal images of women from her two cultures such as the bride, the geisha, the prostitute and the housewife. In this process she uses symbols such as the apron, the hair bow and the world-famous Okame mask. In Japan, this mask symbolises the perfect housewife, but its original background is extremely conservative. She explores the clichés and gives them a new twist, searching for her own aesthetic. This has resulted in a video installation and a series of objects that hold the middle between garment and sculpture.