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Hola muchachas! A new month has started and I’m

Hola muchachas! A new month has started and I’m still reporting safe and sound from Mexico-City.

For this fourth week I’ve been continuing my research while shaping the concept. For me, this is the most important element of starting a new piece. As mentioned before, this concept is based on the axolotl in relation to the concept of metamorphosis and this research will become the foundation of a whole new series, titled: ‘The Absence of Metamorphosis’.

I am currently in the process of connecting concept to visualization, with physical, material and multi-media experiments as my guidance. I am working on translating concept and footage of these weeks of (performative) research, and the new gained insights resulting from the open-studio event we had on the 22nd of May.

Stay notified by adding your contact info via Linktree. Saludos!

Buenas, reporting safe and sound from Mexico-City!

Buenas, reporting safe and sound from Mexico-City! I am working on the start of a new series, based on the axolotl, as an artist in resident since May 1. Here are six photos of the first weeks’ highlights.

Currently, I am funneling down my material of the past weeks. Including my (performative) research, many visits, different environments, conversations with biologists and other experts, and book-diving. One of my insights occurred already: this research will become the fundament of an entire new series!

Hoping to share my first visualization of this part during the final exhibition here in Mexico-City on June 7.

More will follow soon. Add your contact info through the linktree to stay notified. 📬

Happy Labour Day! Check out these snippet-y snippe

Happy Labour Day! Check out these snippet-y snippets of four parts of the ‘My Self’ series. An ongoing research series about the self and the identification process (2015 - ongoing).

This series now exists of five parts, here showing some exclusive snippets of four of them:
1. The awakening after 5 hours performance of ‘My Self, the Fetus’ (2015), here at The Curators Room La Oficina Barcelona in 2022.
2. ‘My Self, the Other’ (2017); no footage because of the concept, which is always leading.
3. Fragments of ‘My Self, the Body’ (2018), during live performance at EYE Film Museum in 2019.
4. Fragments of ‘My Self, the Bladder’ (2018), edited from video work.
5. Snippet of ‘My Self, the (First) Breath’ (2021), taken from first video registration in SIM Gallery Reykjavik in 2021.

I will start developing the sixth part of the series in Indonesia from August 2023 onwards, titled ‘My Self, the (Unfamiliar) Roots’. More info coming soon, stay tuned!

Check out the full works on my website: www.lisetteros.com.

Experiment for ‘My Self, the (First) Breath’ i

Experiment for ‘My Self, the (First) Breath’ in my studio back in 2021, Iceland.

These snippets show some last steps of development before launching this fifth part of the ‘My Self’ series in Reykjavik and Amsterdam.

The ‘My Self’ series is about my ongoing research into the self and the identification process. ‘My Self, the (First) Breath’ is about ‘breath’ and the ‘act of gasping’.

It is questioning individuality and the relation to the collective; taken that the magical first breath by a newborn coming out of the birth-channel is the first step towards becoming an individual as well as becoming part of a herd. For the first time it will be using its owns lungs and share the same air we breathe with others.

The handmade glass objects represent the conceptualization of the main elements during this process: the birth channel, amniotic fluid, the womb, the ovaries and the symbiotic connection with the mother. With these objects I interact during the live performance. These are therefore also a significant part of the work.

* The research for this work began in polluted China (2019), continued in the Netherlands affected by COVID-19, and has reached its final fulfillment in the crisp air of Iceland (2021).

Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by

Ever since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by nature and its organisms and species. Especially the ones living underwater, partly because my uncle had a pet that I couldn’t get my eyes off: an axolotl. The axolotl looked like it came from another planet, and from that moment it became an animal I recognized aspects of myself in. My fascination grew, because us human beings appear to know so little about the underwater world. Above and below the surfaces of waters, throughout the natural world, sex, identity and gender are more complicated than most people realize.

My new research project 'Regenerative Body' explores the life of an aquatic creature at various wetlands, unique in its own kind and usually with the sensory perception and -experience from underwater.

I will further explore this project during my six week residency at Casa Lü in Mexico-City from May 1st onwards.

This project is related to my ongoing performance series in which I am continuously learning about transformation, researching the process of identification, and my (daily) experiments with the fluidity of- and the search for (my own) identity.

During the pandemic I revived my very first work –

During the pandemic I revived my very first work - as a conceptual performance artist - titled ‘Reframing Conventions’, which questions the convention of sitting and researches sitting behavior.

When the whole world was in lockdown in 2020 I took the performance outside as part of INTERBELLUM*, a collaborative project with Gabriel Rolt. This 8-hour performance highlights how spaces and settings worldwide got alienated from their function, and how we physically adapt to this schism.

‘De Stelling van Amsterdam’ as a location offers an interesting decor as it was officially built as a part of Amsterdam’s defense mechanism for war, but has never served its original purpose.

Chapter #3 of INTERBELLUM will soon see the light of day. Stay notified by adding your info in my contact list (linktree).

* The word ‘Interbellum’ commonly refers to the period Between the Wars. It defines a period in-between. When alienation finds its way throughout all layers of existence, and at the same time the opportunity rises to redefine conventions.

During my residency at SIM Iceland I had the time,

During my residency at SIM Iceland I had the time, space and right place to work on ‘My Humanoid Self, (Heavy) Metals’. This is an edit from one of the video works of the performance.

This work in progress is all about metals in the physical sense. The human body consists for an average amount of 55% of water, constructed from- and inextricably connected with different types of (essential and non-essential) metals. These same metals are also used to produce (humanoid) robots, consisting of 0% water.

A residency abroad works very activating for me, because of the two-way-curiosity that can result in the exposure of different perspectives and other energies on the spot.

I presented the first part of my research to the public through a performance experiment where I relate myself to different types of metals. During the exhibition, this was translated into natural and chemical bodies - human(oid) and crater; sculptures, performance and liquids - and each presented in a transformative stage of being.

My performances can be booked, programmed and exhibited. Please send your inquiries via DM.

Whoop! Metal Magazine publication is out now! I ha

Whoop! Metal Magazine publication is out now! I had a lovely chat with the Spanish platform about my art, my views on the relationship with the body and more.

‘When it comes to asking the big questions, Lisette Ros goes that extra step further to get the answers she is looking for. Through her work as a conceptual artist, Ros uses her body as a medium through which to explore identity and other aspects elemental to our existence. Acting herself as both artist and artwork, she produces projects consisting of both still images, live performances and tactile residues of herself in order to carry out a variety of experimentations, using her physicality to do so.’

Read the full article (English) via link in bio.

Special thanks to Laura Martinova (analogues) and Metal Magazine.

It’s here! The short video of our work ‘I Brui

It’s here! The short video of our work ‘I Bruise Like A Peach’ is now ready to tease you.

The work is about the fragility of the body, the quality thereof and its sensory functioning. It questions and studies whether the ‘human body’ can evolve into ‘übermensch’*, collecting different experiences of fragile, sensory operations to find various forms of (post)humanism.

During the live performance of ‘I Bruise Like A Peach’, Lisette Ros challenges the vulnerability and resistance of the body through a sensory detoxification ritual. “I perform a live cupping session on my own skin and flesh, while interacting with the light installation and fluids.”

“After the live performance, I investigate the healing and the processes that the marks go through during an average period of ten days. This detoxification process helps to facilitate the flow of ‘Qi’ in the body. Every mark has its different stages of pigmentation, process of resetting and healing, and pattern palette. This is all connected to various connotations and meanings linked to that specific area of the body. This differential analysis is based on traditional Chinese medical thinking, which offers the most comprehensive and methodical reckoning available on this subject. I also refer to this as my ‘healing process’. To be continued.”

The installation is a custom coded light box based on the colors and patterns of these marks handmade by Sam Janssen. The panel is filled with interactive fluids. The work is constantly changing in forms and colours, and therefore never static.

Pssst, ‘I Bruise Like A Peach’ - in totality - is available to be booked, programmed, and exhibited. Please send me or Sam a DM with your questions or inquiry.

Video by Davids.danoss.do.

'…Elk rondje is anders' (2015) is about the conv

'…Elk rondje is anders' (2015) is about the convention of ‘walking in circles’ (rondjes lopen), deriving from my research in the gabber and gabber culture*.

In 2020 '…Elk rondje is anders' was revised, renewed and relaunched during the pandemic. Same relevance, different context. For '…Elk rondje is anders during Quarantine' I hand drew the clean lines as a reference to the gym courts where the “gabber parties” used to be organized. Ultimately, my footprints will be the remaining artifact of the durational performance of walking in circles. These artifacts are an important part of the work and my reference to the subculture ‘Gabber’, Dutch heritage from the 80’s/90’s.

This work derives from the - in the Netherlands - well-known video of a gabber in the early 90's. This person answers the question “So, what do you do all of these hours at a party like this?” with: “Ik loop rondjes en ik loop rondjes, ik loop alleen maar rondjes. Kom iedereen tegen, blijf rondjes lopen, elk rondje is anders. Ik loop uren lang rondjes.” [Meaning: “I am constantly walking in circles, for hours I walk in circles, and every circle is different.”]. This action of walking in circles works very therapeutic, although you actually never walk in exact circles, the act itself has become a recognizable action of daily life in different – mostly isolated – spaces (f.e. at a gabber party, in prison, animals in the zoo, at the nursing home, or in your own room).

Because of the latter I decided to relaunch this work during the COVID lockdown of 2020.

*In short: ‘Gabber’ is slang Dutch language which means ‘buddy’. Gabber, also known as gabba, early hardcore, or Rotterdam hardcore, is a style of electronic music, and a subgenre of hardcore techno. The subculture arrived with a typical style of dressing and dancing: ‘hakken’.

Our modern (Western) society is drenched with narc

Our modern (Western) society is drenched with narcissistic behavior, as are we, as are you and as am I.

Psychiatry is the reflective mirror of the world we are living in and patients are the symptom carriers of this epidemic where the entire society is suffering from, one way or another.

With ‘The Mirror’ (2019) I confront and immerse myself in the black contaminated water and wallow in my own reflection in a case that looks like an iPhone screen. The narcissism survives(?).

‘The Mirror’ consists of a live-performance, video work in collaboration with EYE Film Museum and an installation.

Photos 1-4: stills taken from video work by Rob Schröder.
Photo 5: still shot taken after live performance by Baharak Dehghan.
Photo 6: photo of painting, Lisette Ros by Sam Andrea.

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of my work

This year marks the 10 year anniversary of my work ‘Reframing Conventions’. Time to reminisce…

This time lapse video shows the very first live performance of ‘Reframing Conventions’ in 2013 as part of my graduation project at ArtEZ Masters. This resulted from my research in the “plain office space” and the convention of sitting.

During the sitting session I experience what it feels like to sit on the same chair for eight hours straight, without practicing any other action. Becoming aware of the body and the bodily conditioning are fundamental pillars.

What ended as my graduation project for ArtEZ in 2013; meant the beginning of my professional life as an artist, with this being my first official artwork, and was brought back to life in 2020 during the pandemic. (But more on that later this year, whilst reminiscing).

* Sitting time: 10AM till 6PM.

These past 15 years Ulay has always been one of th

These past 15 years Ulay has always been one of the artists that has been most important to my work, but also my outlook on life in general.

I’ve had the privilege of meeting Ulay on different occasions, all of them I hold very dear to my heart. His humble, fluid and open nature - reflected in his work as a performance artist as well as a photographer - was always very prominent.

I once asked him after a performance at Stedelijk Amsterdam why he waited so long to perform again. His answer was so vulnerable and pure, he said: “…because only now I’m old enough to do so again.”

It’s been 3 years since Ulay’s soul left the realms of this planet. I will honor him - and his work - until I do the same.

Photo 1: first encounter in 2015.
Photos 2-4, 6: interview Lisette Ros x Ulay x Stedelijk x VICE about my arts and Ulay’s first solo exhibition in 2021.
Photo 5: first handwritten book sign in 2015.

Minerva Art Academy Workshop Week 2023 By Artist

Minerva Art Academy
Workshop Week 2023
By Artist: Lisette Ros

Title: The Construction of Identity (and the fluidity thereof)

Next to my personal art works, I develop creative programs about themes such as (the fluidity of) identity and gender performativity; questioning box-thinking, prejudices and conventions to challenge other ways of seeing/thinking. I consider the annual workshop week at Minerva as a highlight in my profession as a guest educator. However, I share my programs on different levels and in diverse formats anywhere in NL and around the globe.

This year’s theme of my workshop at Minerva in Groningen was about ‘Construct’. During the workshop week I work closely with the students, give each of them a lot of personal attention, go into depth and deconstruct. From there we move towards reconstruction, and in this case show the individual insights during a group exhibition.

Just as in my art works, I use my own body as a tool. I share my own vulnerabilities and experiences, as well as a selection of theory as common thread in my program.

*If you want to stay updated on my personal work, performances and other news, please leave your contact via Linktree in my bio.

‘I’ll dance as fast as I can / Vol.2’ is a w

‘I’ll dance as fast as I can / Vol.2’ is a work currently in development, while we are still performing the first piece: ‘I’ll dance as fast as I can / Vol.1’ (2020).

There’s a thin line between self-interest and self-destruction, from utter exhaustion of body and mind only by trying to dance in a world that’s everything but ordinary. The dancing body can’t be restrained, it doesn’t have a fixed shape or core, instead it’s bouncing up and down, bleeding. Falling and rising. Just trying to dance. - From the 2020 Manifest.

In 2020 during the Covid pandemic LR On Demand - Lisette Ros, Bas Geerts and Gabriel Rolt - emerged.

The work consists of a live performance between the artists, a video-work and a residue installation.

FPS video game experiments. Studio processes mai

FPS video game experiments.

Studio processes mainly occur in my brain, while spending time outside and on the streets is where I connect the dots for my concepts.

During the time as an artist in resident in Iceland, the importance of motion and journeying for my work were more evident than ever. As well as always having fun of course.

Rotterdam is always an inspiring city to visit, an

Rotterdam is always an inspiring city to visit, and even more so to perform. Which was the case with my live performance of ‘I Bruise Like a Peach’ at Time is the New Space in Rotterdam last month.

With this work I research the fragility of the body, the quality of it being easily damaged, and its sensory functioning.

During the live performance I challenge the vulnerability and resistance of my body through a sensory detoxification ritual.

After the live performance, I investigate my healing and the processes that the marks of the cupping go through during an average period of ten days. This detoxification process helps to facilitate the flow of ‘Qi’ in the body. Every mark has its different stages of pigmentation, process of resetting and healing, and pattern palette. This differential analysis is based on traditional Chinese medical thinking, which offers the most comprehensive and methodical reckoning available on this subject.

A short video of the love performance will follow soon.

Light installation by: Sam Janssen
Photos by: Davids Danoss

‘My Self, the (First) Breath’ This fifth part

‘My Self, the (First) Breath’

This fifth part of the ‘My Self’ series is about ‘breath’ and the act of ‘gasping’.

It is questioning individuality and the relation to the collective; taken that the magical first breath by a newborn coming out of the birth-channel is the first step towards becoming an individual as well as becoming part of a herd. For the first time it will be using its owns lungs and share the same air we breathe with others.

The handmade installation represents the conceptualization of the main elements during this process. With these objects I interact during the live performance. These are therefore also a significant part of the work.

* The research for this work began in polluted China (2019), continued in the Netherlands affected by COVID-19, and has reached its final fulfillment in the crisp air of Iceland (2021).

These past years photographer and friend Marieke G

These past years photographer and friend Marieke Gras has captured me on many different occasions in my life (as a performance artist).

Some of these polaroids directly show me at my most vulnerable moments. I am very grateful for this ongoing collaboration and connection.

‘My Humanoid Self, (Heavy) Metals’ has meant t

‘My Humanoid Self, (Heavy) Metals’ has meant the start of my research into metals (in a physical context). Concept and video work in progress.

By drinking metals from the crater water on different volcanic spots in Iceland during my SIM Residency, I realized that these metals are always present in my body.

The human body consists for an average amount of 55% of water, constructed from- and inextricably connected with different types of (essential and non-essential) metals. These same metals are also used to produce (humanoid) robots, consisting of 0% water.

Here, during the exhibition, this was translated into natural and chemical bodies - human(oid) and crater - and each presented in a transformative stage of being.

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