Damselfrau, which means Maiden Wife in German, is the Norwegian artist, Magnhild Kennedy's pseudonym. This abstruse play with language and identity signals the artist’s penchant for layered meanings and her desire to defy simple interpretation. Her masks are not merely objects of beauty displaying her craftsmanship or even a device of titillating self-concealment for the wearer. They are loaded with history and stories.
Whether exquisitely beautiful or seemingly absurd, the masks are made with delicate fabrics, embroidery, beading and paint. Materials are gathered from many far flung places and different eras - lace inherited from Norway’s first feminist, hair from old Japanese Geisha hair pieces, glass beads picked off the Christmas decorations off Champs-Elysees. They allude to the intimate relationship between past and present as well as the tensions created by fusing diverse elements.
Magnhild Kennedy lives and works in London. She has been practising as a mask maker since 2007. Her masks have been acquired by private collectors and worn by acclaimed electronica duo Royksopp.
