Exhibition THE RAZZLE DAZZLE OF INFINITE GIRLHOOD defies a world where outdated and monotonous views on gender roles, beauty ideals, and mental and physical maturity still dominate. The jewellery inspired by girlhood expands concepts introduced in Kirss’s master’s thesis, titled MY FRIENDS ARE BIMBOS.
“I don’t infantilize myself when I say, ‘I’m just a girl!’ Because to be infinitely girly is to be playful, caring, and passionate! Charli XCX has labeled this the brat summer— we’re all a bit broken, anxious, and constantly in a hurry, but the best time to start living is now and right here.
So, call your friends, go to a party, cry in the bathroom, click around in high heels, throw pajama parties, stick a poster of your favorite artist on the wall, get a belly button piercing, be cringe! The world needs more girls; fortunately, each of us has one inside… find that girl!” exclaims Liisbeth Kirss.
Liisbeth Kirss (1996) is a jewellery artist who primarily focuses on decorative dental covers, also known as grillz. Her work is inspired by girlhood, female friendships, parties, and her hometown. In 2023, she graduated with a master’s degree in jewelry design from the Estonian Academy of Arts. Kirss is mainly based in Pärnu, the summer capital of Estonia, popularizing grillz and running a feminist bar for babes called KRÕHVA.
Exhibition AIMLESS AURORAS OF MIDLIFE MUNDANITY is a humorous, self-ironic reflection on the absurdity of subcultures glorifying primal masculinity.
Guided by the principle of sympathetic magic, the works—primarily depicting bull testicles—highlight extreme male stereotypes. The crafted regalia comments on the dubious motives and worldviews of influencers promoting masculine ideals. Diving into the shallow world of life coaches on social media can be detrimental to health, devastating to close relationships, and dangerous to society at large. Through his works, Laur opposes such alpha male prophets by ridiculing their concepts.
“Masculinity has become a cosmetic caricature, where external aspects transform into the essence of the bearer. A proper man has plenty of money, expensive cars, a villa in Spain (or at least a manor in Läänemaa), tasteless gold chains and rings, a gym six-pack, and an obedient wife.
What should those men do who don’t want to be conquerors, leaders, or superheroes? What if I don’t like resolving disputes with fists, can’t make money, have a wife who barks back, and a fear of needles excludes even getting tattoos? Am I even a real man?
If I make myself regalia worthy of Andrew Tate or Joe Rogan, will I become more masculine? If I ate the testicles of Jordan Peterson or Mihkel Kunnus, would I have hope of becoming a man? Or do I still just need to tidy my room and go to the gym?” asks Valdek Laur.
Valdek Laur is an artist working in both jewellery and metal art as well as digital art. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Jewellery and Blacksmithing department of the Estonian Academy of Arts and a degree in advertising and media from Tallinn University. Laur has exhibited his works in solo and group exhibitions in Estonia, Latvia, and elsewhere in Europe. His main interests include prehistoric mythologies, speculative political science, and futurology. Laur has published articles on technology and generative machine learning models and is a lecturer at the Tallinn School of Economics and the Estonian Academy of Arts.
