Paul Kooiker and Lisa Konno explore fashion and identity at Museum Kranenburgh

Now on view at Museum Kranenburgh in Bergen, Lisa Konno Paul Kooiker brings together two distinct artistic practices in an exhibition examining the connection between fashion and identity. Running from May 24th to November 1st, 2026, the show presents new museum installations by Lisa Konno and Paul Kooiker, inviting visitors to consider how clothing, image, and performance influence the way we see ourselves and others.

Working across fashion, photography, installation, and performance, Konno and Kooiker each present an independent project that originated as a live performance. Shown side by side, the works create a conversation around beauty, power, influence, and self-image.

Lisa Konno’s ‘Figure’: clothing as movement and narrative

A central work in the exhibition is Figure (2025/2026), created with the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. The installation features costumes and accessories that blur the line between fashion, sculpture, and musical instrument.

Developed through Konno’s research into textiles and ceramics, the garments produce ticking, creaking, and jingling sounds when worn. These sounds became the starting point for the choreography of the original performance.

Through Figure, Konno examines the relationship between women, beauty, and appearance. Following different stages of a woman’s life, the project explores fashion as both a form of self-expression and a source of pressure, raising questions about freedom, beauty, and social expectation.

Paul Kooiker’s ‘Business of Fashion’

Paul Kooiker presents Business of Fashion (2018), a photographic series portraying influential figures from the fashion industry. Captured in carefully staged poses, the subjects appear suspended between person and persona. The images carry a sense of distance and ambiguity, encouraging viewers to reconsider status, image-making, and identity within the fashion world.

At Museum Kranenburgh, the works of Lisa Konno and Paul Kooiker present fashion as far more than clothing or image. Here, it emerges as a powerful cultural force that influences perception, shapes identity, and reveals the tension between individuality and expectation.