LONDON British artist Daniel Lismore's monumental pieces of wearable art, featuring everything from rubbish to elaborate headgear studded with jewels, took centre stage on Friday at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
In an interview, guests were invited to look at the nearly 2 metre 6 foot, 4 inch tall pieces, one of which was worn by Lismore. "I'm not a performance artist or drag queen, I just live as art," he said.
Lismore said the pieces - featuring brightly coloured fabrics and metallic embellisments - took between two hours to eight months to put together and were inspired by people and objects from around the world.
There are hundreds of stories in each piece, he said.
I wore a piece that I wore to Buckingham Palace for the Queen's Platinum Party. Pieces from everywhere you can imagine, pieces from all over the floor, rubbish, pieces from Bulgari, pieces from all over the place are some of the things I find on the floor. He said that the piece he wore on Friday was among his heaviest and featured items of personal significance.
I wanted to put all of my memories of the years from when I was a teen, when I was bullied, and all those things that meant something to me throughout my life, Lismore said.
It had mirrors, so it was to reflect on who was looking at me so they could see themselves in me somehow. The artist, who made his London debut with the show, presented 12 pieces from his 2016 traveling exhibition Be Yourself, Everybody Else is Taken, which opened in Atlanta in 2016.