Joana Vasconcelos Portuguese , b. 1971

Vasconcelos was born in Paris in 1971 and trained at the Centro de Arte y Comunicação Visual in Lisbon. Having regularly exhibited during the 1990s, her work first achieved international acclaim at the 2005 Venice Biennale with A Noiva (The Bride), a chandelier crafted from 25,000 tampons.

Influenced by Nouveau Réalisme, Marcel Duchamp and Louise Bourgeois, Vasconcelos is known for her manipulation of found materials, such as common Portuguese household ornaments. Covering them with knitting or crochet, she subverts the associations attached to the mass-produced vs. handcrafted object. Her work touches on the idea of womanhood and female identity within contemporary society, and often features animals.

She now lives and works in Lisbon, Portugal.