Imagine arriving right at the aftermath of a lavish celebration. Lights on, party’s over. The remains of what once was unbridled luxury now sparkle scattered around, clumsy witnesses of opulence turned bare ruin. In Dazzle Dazzle the high and the low come together in an ultimate trickled-down “bal de débutantes” where the glamour of luxury reveals its eroded protocols. Ostentation is traced through its remnants, and waste is revealed as both a psychological need and an economic condition. Lights on, party’s over, yes … but the rhythm hasn’t stopped: its dysfunctional organisation is simply accentuated, getting closer to a rave while maintaining the capacity to shine.
Approaching observation, mimicry and amateurishness as strategies to engage with taste and its implications, Lorenza Longhi appropriates the language of fashion and pins down how desire is constructed, displayed, and performed within consumerist society. She hijacks mechanical reproduction and exhausted standardisation, crafting liveliness out of what could be just perceived as the most classical nightmare. Decoration holds a special place here, jauntily reclaiming the power to strip down seemingly fixed systems, and redefining notions of value and permanence. Get ready to tip-toe among sequins, stencils, ribbons, and grapples … it’s them setting the tempo of the next get-together.
Dazzle Dazzle is Longhi’s first institutional solo exhibition in Germany.
