My life as a work of art Daniel Lismore
My day starts just like yours.
(Laughter)
When I wake up in the morning,
I check my phone,
and then I have a cup of coffee.
But then my day truly starts.
It may not be like yours,
because I live my life as an artwork.
Picture yourself in a giant jewelry box
with all the beautiful things
that you have ever seen in your life.
Then imagine that your body is a canvas.
And on that canvas,
you have a mission to create a masterpiece
using the contents
of your giant jewelry box.
Once you’ve created your masterpiece,
you might think, “Wow, I created that.
This is who I am today.”
Then you would pick up your house keys,
walk out the door into the real world,
maybe take public transport
to the center of the town …
Possibly walk along the streets
or even go shopping.
That’s my life, every day.
When I walk out the door,
these artworks are me.
I am art.
I have lived as art my entire adult life.
Living as art is how I became myself.
I was brought up in a small village
called Fillongley, in England,
and it was last mentioned
in the “Domesday Book,”
so that’s the mentality.
(Laughter)
I was raised by my grandparents,
and they were antiques dealers,
so I grew up surrounded
by history and beautiful things.
I had the most amazing dress-up box.
So as you can imagine, it started then.
I moved to London when I was 17
to become a model.
And then I went to study photography.
I wasn’t really happy
with myself at the time,
so I was always looking for escapism.
I studied the works of David LaChapelle
and Steven Arnold,
photographers who both curated
and created worlds
that were mind-blowing to me.
So I decided one day to cross over
from the superficial fashion world
to the superficial art world.
(Laughter)
I decided to live my life
as a work of art.
I spend hours, sometimes
months, making things.
My go-to tool is a safety pin,
like this –
(Laughter)
They’re never big enough.
(Laughter)
And I use my fabrics time and time again,
so I recycle everything that I use.
When I get dressed I’m guided
by color, texture and shape.
I rarely have a theme.
I find beautiful objects
from all over the world,
and I curate them into 3-D tapestries
over a base layer that covers
my whole body shape …
because I’m not very happy with my body.
(Laughs)
I ask myself, “Should I take something off
or should I put something on?
100 pieces, maybe?”
And sometimes, I do that.
I promise you it’s not
too uncomfortable –
well, just a little –
(Laughter)
I might have a safety pin
poking at me sometimes
when I’m having a conversation with you,
so I’ll kind of go off –
(Laughter)
It usually takes me
about 20 minutes to get ready,
which nobody ever believes.
It’s true –
sometimes.
So, it’s my version
of a t-shirt and jeans.
(Laughter)
When I get dressed,
I build like an architect.
I carefully place things
till I feel they belong.
Then, I get a lot of my ideas
from lucid dreaming.
I actually go to sleep
to come up with my ideas,
and I’ve taught myself to wake up
to write them down.
I wear things till they fall apart,
and then, I give them a new life.
The gold outfit, for example –
it was the outfit that I wore
to the Houses of Parliament in London.
It’s made of armor,
sequins and broken jewelry,
and I was the first person
to wear armor to Parliament
since Oliver Cromwell
banned it in the 17th century.
Things don’t need
to be expensive to be beautiful.
Try making outfits out of bin liners
or trash you found out on the streets.
You never know,
they might end up on the pages of “Vogue.”
There’s over 6,000 pieces
in my collection,
ranging from 2,000-year-old Roman rings
to ancient Buddhist artifacts.
I believe in sharing what I do
and what I have with others,
so I decided to create an art exhibition,
which is currently traveling
to museums around the world.
It contains an army of me –
life-size sculptures
as you can see behind me,
they’re here –
they are my life, really.
They’re kind of like 3-D tapestries
of my existence as living as art.
They contain plastic crystals
mixed with diamonds,
beer cans and royal silks all in one look.
I like the fact that the viewer
can never make the assumption
about what’s real and what’s fake.
I find it important to explore and share
cultures through my works.
I use clothing as a means to investigate
and appreciate people
from all over the world.
Sometimes, people think
I’m a performer or a drag queen.
I’m not.
Although my life appears
to be a performance,
it’s not.
It’s very real.
People respond to me as they would
any other type of artwork.
Many people are fascinated and engaged.
Some people walk around me,
staring, shy at first.
Then they come up to me and they say
they love or absolutely hate what I do.
I sometimes respond, and other times
I let the art talk for itself.
The most annoying thing in the world
is when people want to touch the artwork.
But I understand.
But like a lot of contemporary art,
many people are dismissive.
Some people are critical,
others are abusive.
I think it comes from
the fear of the different –
the unknown.
There are so many reactions to what I do,
and I’ve just learned
not to take them personally.
I’ve never lived
as Daniel Lismore, the person.
I’ve lived as Daniel Lismore, the artwork.
And I’ve faced every
obstacle as an artwork.
It can be hard …
especially if your wardrobe
takes up a 40-foot container,
three storage units
and 30 boxes from IKEA –
(Laughter)
and sometimes, it can be
very difficult, getting into cars,
and sometimes –
well, this morning I didn’t fit
through my bathroom door,
so that was a problem.
(Laughter)
What does it mean to be yourself?
People say it all the time,
but what does it truly mean,
and why does it matter?
How does life change when you choose
to be unapologetically yourself?
I’ve had to face struggles
and triumphs whilst living my life as art.
I’ve been put on private jets
and flown around the world.
My work’s been displayed
in prestigious museums,
and I’ve had the opportunity –
that is my grandparents, by the way,
they’re the people that raised me,
and there I am –
(Laughs)
(Applause)
So I’ve been put on private jets,
flown around the world,
and yet, it’s not been that easy
because at times, I’ve been homeless,
I’ve been spat at,
I’ve been abused, sometimes daily,
bullied my entire life,
rejected by countless individuals,
and I’ve been stabbed.
But what hurt the most
was being put on the “Worst Dressed” list.
(Laughter)
It can be hard, being yourself,
but I’ve found it’s the best way.
There’s the “Worst Dressed.”
(Laughs)
As the quote goes,
“Everyone else is already taken.”
I’ve come to realize that confidence
is a concept you can choose.
I’ve come to realize that authenticity
is necessary, and it’s powerful.
I’ve tried to spend time
being like other people.
It didn’t work.
It’s a lot of hard work,
not being yourself.
I have a few questions for you all.
Who are you?
How many versions of you are there?
And I have one final question:
Are you using them all to your advantage?
In reality, everyone is capable
of creating their own masterpiece.
You should try it sometime.
It’s quite fun.
Thank you.
(Applause and cheers)