AN ARTIST is bringing his work as the ‘living sculpture’ to Bournemouth as he returns to the town he was born in with a unique exhibition.

Daniel Lismore’s Studio Visit is due to be on display at GIANT in Bobby’s from Friday, January 13.

Taking over the GIANT project space, Daniel will create a site-specific installation based on the studio environment that is instrumental to his practice.

As a ‘living sculpture’, he has been a prominent fixture on the London Fashion and Art circuits and an activist for human rights and the environment for 20 years, having exhibited his work at major art world events including Art Basel and the Venice Biennale, as well as heavyweight institutions such as the Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

Daniel creates elaborate, three-dimensional figurative sculptures crafted like tapestries; each artwork is created from fragments of items previously worn by the artist, meshing history and futurism.

His evolution as a living sculpture was fuelled by a childhood growing up in his father’s antique auction house, where historic regalia, hand-made treasures, artworks, weaponry and suits-of-armour were assembled alongside collectible Star War figures and Star Trek memorabilia.

Daniel said: “My studio space is a place of self-mirroring, a space where my life plays out the reality of the fantasies that I build in my brain which flourish into my day-to-day existence as living as sculpture. I’m constantly surrounded by reminders of my journey through life by the objects I have picked up along the way. Many of these things become artworks when I apply them onto my body, which I see as my canvas.

“I was often told that I couldn’t draw, I couldn’t sculpt, and I could not design. Many of my ideas have been dismissed but I want to show you the place those dreams were made and eventually many became a reality and have been shown in museums, stages, runways and on celebrities all over the world. I’m fortunate that I am the artwork and when you become art there is no place for mistakes because every idea is valid.

“When I’m asked, 'can I come visit your studio' I usually respond 'no' and that my studio is in my mind and I’ve been very privileged to work on museum floors to create my sculptures, but what you will see in this installation are my surroundings from my homes which are the places I have made most of my work.”

The show in Bournemouth, which runs until March 12, will also debut his unseen work from lockdown and his 2021 sculpture which he wore during his V&A Museum ‘Fashion in Motion’ exhibition.