EXPO ‘Beauty of the Beast: Jewellery & Taxidermy’ – Museum Arnhem (NL) – 24 Janv.-10 Mai 2015

Beauty of the Beast: Jewellery and Taxidermy -  Museum Arnhem, Netherlands

The museum presents the work of more than 15 international designers and artists for the exhibition, Beauty of the Beast.  The displayed works explore the connection between taxidermy, jewellery and visual arts.

(Reid Peppard – Head Piece: Double Rat Headdress, 2008)

Artist list : Karley Feaver — Charlie Tuesday Gates — Kate Gilliland — Idiots — Benjamin Lignel — Märta Mattsson — Kelly McCallum — Kate MccGwire — Ted Noten — Reid Peppard — Iris Schieferstein — Simei Irene Snyman — Tinkebell — Cecilia Valentine — Emily Valentine — Tanel Veenre — Christel Verdaasdonk — Lisa Walker — Julia deVille — Niels van Eijk — Miriam van der Lubbe

From high-concept shops to cocktail bars: every style-conscious place these days displays a mounted fox or peacock in the window. Taxidermy, the mounting of dead animals, is hot. But what happens when you apply taxidermy to contemporary jewellery design? In the exhibition Beauty of the Beast Museum Arnhem presents the work of more than 15 international designers and artists who make a connection between taxidermy, jewellery and visual arts. The exhibition presents, on the one hand, wearable jewellery and fashion accessories such as necklaces, brooches, bags, hats, hair ornaments and shoes. But it also includes more sculptural and autonomous work.

Märta Mattsson Brooch: Crash!, 2011 Taxidermy bird, walnut wood, silver

Märta Mattsson Brooch: Palindrome, 2014 Cicada wings, resin, crushed sulphur, silver, glitter

Emily Valentine,Vijf broches, Deconstructed Budgie, 2010. Foto: John Lee

Benjamin Lignel Piece: Io ce l’ho d’oro (yeah…but mine’s gold), 2007 Fine gold 6,5 x 3,4 x 3,4 cm Beak extension for pigeon photo: Enrico Bartolucci, Paris  An experiment on the ambivalent use of accessories to either mock, or ape, the demeanour of our betters. .

Tanel Veenre. brooch: Forever Together, 2014 Seahorses, wood, gold leaf, silver Photo by Tanel Veenre

 Julia deVille Brooch: Bird Skull, 2004 Bird Skull, cubic zirconia, sterling silver 

Kelly McCallum brooch

 

Museum Arnhem
Utrechtseweg 87
6812 AA -  Arnhem
NETHERLANDS
[e-mail]
tel [phone]

Y’a un OS ………..

« Y’a un OS » ….

this expression (« Il y a un os » or « tomber sur un os » [to hit a snag]) means that there is a problem when you « find a bone » … but the dog seems happy when finding a bone ??! why men are not happy ??

But, with this post, perhaps women will be happy when « finding bones » !

jewelry with bones ….

collier Ynac (collection « jusqu’aux os ») Ynac (from AFEDAP Paris) – BONES necklace ! – Salon Parures et Allures – Ateliers d’Art de France – sept 2012 paris

Ynac - collection ‘jusqu’aux os’ -collier ‘enchainement des ch(os)es’ – os teinté, feuille d’or, laiton – 1m  

Patricia Lemaire — broches en os

Patricia Lemaire 2011 – BONE, sautoir

Patricia Lemaire – broche « étoile de mer » – os, argent

Francesca Gabrielli  « Noli Me Tangere »  necklace 04  synthetic stones and bone  Photos QuidCreative

Francesca Gabrielli – Nuda veritas

Francesca Gabrielli Necklace: Noli Me Tangere 2013 Synthetic pink orange stones, bone

Francesca Gabrielli

Anastasia Kandaraki  -  2011 -  « χίλια κομμάτια »  brooch, bone, colour, gold K14

Robert Ebendorf

Evelien Sipkes – Pork Bones, Linen 2004

Evelien Sipkes – bones neckpiece detail

Evelien Sipkes  Bones and Linen bracelet

Mia Straka – Necklace ‘Wishbone’.  Bone and sterling silver

Jennifer Trask, Germinate Necklace, 2010. Bone, antler, teeth, pre-ban ivory, steel, brass, diamonds.

Thomas Hill : « Bird Skull and Vertebrae » Pendant

Dominic Jones offers up these animal part necklaces as his master works of Jewelry Art… 2010 

Julia deVille – Claw Brooch -   Sterling silver, rhodium plated claw brooch with push clasp. Cast from the leg of a turtledove

Dandi Maestre

Jorge Manilla – serie ‘metamorfosis divinas’ necklace

Jorge Manilla – serie ‘metamorfosis divinas’  (detail)

EXPO ‘Bequeath’ – e.g.etal, Melbourne (AU) – 22 Oct.-3 Nov. 2012

Bequeath – Julia de Ville – at e.g.etal

Rings are a deeply personal form of adornment. Jewellery from the Victorian era, known for its carefully considered embellishment and bold use of gemstones, typifies the potential for beautiful objects to take on significant personal meaning. This is jewellery that traces romantic love and loss, climbing to the heights of devotion and flirting poetically with the depths of despair. …….

« Julia’s work is characterised by the use of symbols and motifs from past eras. Her precious rings combine found settings from antique jewellery. Over several years, Julia has sourced antique jewellery and gemstones—their original owners long since deceased—waiting patiently for the right combination to form a new creation in her mind and then at her workbench. Through conceptual consideration and traditional and contemporary techniques she appropriates and reconfigures older pieces to form a new design.
Rings are a deeply personal form of adornment. Jewellery from the Victorian era, known for its carefully considered embellishment and bold use of gemstones, typifies the potential for beautiful objects to take on significant personal meaning. This is jewellery that traces romantic love and loss, climbing to the heights of devotion and flirting poetically with the depths of despair. The symmetry and order of the Victorian aesthetic is here transcended in the form of jewellery that combines settings and gems to create something that feels familiar but is post modern and intuitive in its approach to form and colour.
As the title of the exhibition implies, this work is about the potential for life to continue, even as we don’t. Each ring has the appearance of a collection of family heirlooms that have been melted gracefully into one piece. Julia herself says, “I’m constantly in awe of jewellery’s capacity to carry meaning beyond our own lives. For example, my mother is going to be turned into a diamond when she dies and I will make her into a ring for myself. Thus her life, in some form, continues…”
This will be Julia’s first solo jewellery exhibition in over five years. In the meantime she has been exhibiting her sculptural taxidermy work. This includes having pieces included in the collection at MONA, as well as her most recent solo exhibition, ‘Sarcophagus’, at Sophie Gannon Gallery in August 2012. »

Julia Deville  Rings: Untitled 2012  White gold, sapphires, diamonds

Julia Deville Bequeath Ring

e.g.etal
167 Flinders Lane & 185 Little Collins Street
3000 VIC – Melbourne
Australia
Telephone: [phone]

EXPO ‘UNEXPECTED PLEASURES’ – NGV International, Melbourne (AU) – 20 Avril-26 Aout 2012

UNEXPECTED PLEASURES

The Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery

A Design Museum, London touring exhibition
at NGV (National Gallery of Victoria)

Unexpected Pleasures looks at what we mean by jewellery from a number of different perspectives.  Taking as its starting point the radical experiments of the Contemporary Jewellery Movement that challenged a conventional understanding of the language of personal adornment, and looking instead at the essential meanings of jewellery, the exhibition brings together important work from around the world, and looks at it from the point of view of the wearer as well as the maker. Contemporary  Jewellery in this sense is at the intersection of art and design.

Curated by Dr. Susan Cohn for the Design Museum, London with exhibition design by Ab Rogers Design and graphics by Barnbrook.

« UNEXPECTED Pleasures, an exhibition of the world’s ugliest, loveliest, most intriguing contemporary jewellery, opened at the National Gallery of Victoria International yesterday.
 »Everything here is designed to be worn, » said guest curator and jewellery designer Susan Cohn.
Visitors took that as a challenge, moving through 180 dimly lit curiosities by the world’s most radical designers, trying to imagine what it would be like to wear a necklace of glass and ceramic dildos. Or a tubular  »veil » collar like a pearly plastic version of Ned Kelly’s helmet. Or a cluster of rusted bolts and nails on a silver  »Screw Ring ».
 »After procreation and survival, our next instinct as humans is adornment, » Cohn said when asked,  »Why? »
 »Adornment is about attracting a mate, which in turn, is about procreation and survival. »
Some humans, however, obviously require more complex, intellectual adornments than others.  »Yes, some wearers will want something that speaks that way for them, » Cohn said. Among the exhibits was a vast choice of such expression, from the minimalist exquisitry of a grey sunray-pleated yoke, to a clump of small pale  »tumours », photographed bursting through a model’s frock. The latter was in a category of radical ideas.
NGV director Gerard Vaughan said the exhibition offered  »a fresh view of the many meanings associated with jewellery ».
The visiting director of London’s Design Museum, Deyan Sudjic, said it was the result of a  »long, drawn-out, cerebral process », and that is precisely how it felt.
Unexpected Pleasures: The Art and Design of Contemporary Jewellery, is a Design Museum, London, exhibition funded by the Joan and Peter Clemenger Trust.
It is free and runs until August 26, when it will travel to London. (Daily Life.com.au)

Art and design come together through its exploration of the radical experiments of contemporary jewelers who have pushed the boundaries. Navigate your way through the labyrinth of themes; Worn Out (celebrating the experience of wearing jewellery), Linking Links (looks at the way in which narratives are expressed through sub-themes and creative systems) and A Fine Line (offers insight into the origins of contemporary jewellery today) in an exhibition that is not to be missed.

Camilla Prasch – MEGA 2009 – red dyed snap fasteners, nylon thread, silicone discs – Photo: Dorte Krogh

Sally Marsland (AU) – Flat colour, brooches (2002) – epoxy resin mixed with powdered pigment - Photo: Jeremy Dillon

Doug Bucci, USA, Trans-Hematopoietic neckpiece (2010).

Susie Ganch, USA, Yellow dust, brooch (2010)

David Bielander, Scampi, armband/bracelet, 2007

Karl Fritsch Screw ring 2010 silver, nails, screws

 

Karl Fritsch, New Zealand, Steinhaufen, ring 2004

Hyewon Kim -  Torn 1 (2011) – resin, twigs Photo: Myoungwook Huh

Tiffany Parbs – Extension (2008) – hand woven hair, digital print – photo Terence Bogue

Caroline Broadhead, England, Veil, necklace (1983).

Susanne Klemm, « Frozen » necklace, plastic

Blanche TILDEN – Speed, neckpiece  2000  borosilicate glass, titanium, anodised aluminium

Paul Derrez  Pleated Collar  1982  Plastic, steel 

Felieke van der Leest – necklace

Rose necklace by Gijs Bakker: Colour photograph in laminated plastic (1983) 

Dorothea Prühl Habicht (Hawk), 2006 necklace, elm wood – H 40 cm

Noon Passama, Brooch, 2010

 

First on show at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 20 April – 26 August 2012, this exhibition will also tour to the Design Museum in London, 5 Dec 2012 – 3 Mar 2013. Melbourne based designer and maker Dr. Susan Cohn (interview with The Age) has curated this exhibition for the Design Museum and is also co-author of the substantial catalogue documenting this event as well contributing to the discussion about contemporary design and making.

 

 

VIDEO

 

NGV International
180 St Kilda Road
Melbourne (AU)
Contemporary Exhibitions
Level G

….. et plonger dans le grand BLEU !

THANKS to  Marta Miguel Martínez-Soria page/selection on Pinterest, about blue jewellery !!!! it was the departure for this ….. blue OCEAN !! or, to be more in the « intellectual » actuality, « 99 shades of … BLUE » !!

 

Giorgio Vigna – gorgoglio – vetro

Arthur Hash  Blue Wave (cast polyurethane)

Donald FRIEDLICH  (gal. Loupe) – brooch ‘Translucence’ series – glass, 18k & 14k gold, diamond
Gésine Hackenberg- Table Glass: Dutch/Finnish Still Life, Brooch

Gésine Hackenberg Double Glass Still life Brooch- Finnish table glass (vintage by Itala); cut and ground

Giampaolo Babetto – Brosche

Graziano Visintin – broche – or, argent, niellage – 2009 

  
Graziano Visintin – Brooch, 2006 – 18k gold, enamel, gold leaf  (The David Collection)

Lisa JUEN – ‘don’t dream it wear it’ – blue brooch or necklace- Lasercut Stainless Steel, CZ, LED, LED Screen, Plastic, Cable, Light Switch, Battery

Maria Rosa Franzin brooch

Pilar Garrigosa brooch

Julia deVille (AU) – ‘Mechanical Wing’ brooch, Kingfisher Wing, silver

Luis Acosta – paper bracelet

Märta Mattsson

Rallou Katsari - ‘whispering loud’ ring

Aline Berdichevsky – brooches “Reconstructio »

Benedikt Fischer – brooches

Christian Astuguevieille – Bracelet éponge bleue (La Piscine, Roubaix – don de l’artiste en 1995)

Stefano Poletti- Collier en éponge naturelle teintée et perle recouverte de feuille d’or monté sur fil d’or

Nel Linssen – blue bangle – paper

Ute Eitzenhöfer – brooch – Mixed media (labradorite)

Eleanor Bolton – blue(s) necklaces

Coco Dunmire  necklace

Tabea Reuleake – ring

Birgit Skolimowski (EE)

Estela Saez “Good by(e) nest.” serie  2008- ‘SEPIA’ – silver/wool/fabrics/paint

Carolina Gimeno- portable objects

Carolina Gimeno-‘Phacella Congesta’ from Portable Objects 2010 – brooch

Carolina Gimeno- ‘Zurciendo cuerpos sobre el mapa’ 2009 – Brooch – Copper, Vitreus Enamel, wood, silver , steel

Carolina Gimeno (Chili) – série “dibujando en el espacio”

Flora Vagi – curious wish – brooch

Susie Ganch – blue dust enamel brooch

Flora Vagi -azur reverse necklace – ebony, silk, cord enamel,18 ct gold – 2005

Stacey Bentley brooch – enamel

Blanche Tilden – “Compress” necklace - glass

Christophe Marguier – ‘esperance de vie de l’homme’ necklace- plastic, silver, steel

Gulnur OZDAGLAR – PET jewelry

Gulnur OZDAGLAR – PET jewelry necklace

Catherine Jacquet – collier cascade – plastiques

Barbara PAGANIN (IT) broche ‘fiore di luce’ – verre  (Galerie SLAVIK)

GIIA (IT) “blue wave” felt neckpiece

Camilla Teglio – « Mimesi n2″  Collana : legno, carta giapponese, argento, colore

 Lucia Massei - pendant ‘Comunque e sempre’ 18kt yellow gold, silver, iron, ruby, black spinels 2009

 Lucia Massei -  bague « la bella adormentata »

Mirla Fernandes- Herança necklace- latex,paint, porcelain – 2006

Peter  Hoogeboom – chainmail porcelain necklaces

Liana Pattihis  - Blue Circle Brooch 2007 – Silver, copper, enamel stainless steel – Inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s Painting ‘Blue Circle’

Liana Pattihis - Brooch: Blue Istos 02 2010 -silver Light Trace Chain, Copper, Enamel, St. Steel

Viktoria Münzker- Kollektion PARADISO

Mirjam Hiller - Catopsia – brooch – stainless steel powdercoating, titanium

Sari Liimatta « The Costume I », necklace, 2006 glass beads, fresh water pearls, metal, plastic toy

Mia Maljojoki - 2010 (Photo: Mirei Takeuchi)

Sara Borgegård  2009 necklace, wood, paint, iron, cotton

Sara Borgegård necklace

Yuri Bylkov - ring- metal, paper, acrylic – 2009

Alexis Kostuk – “high gear” brooch- copper, which I used a patina on to darken, pearls & gem beads, sterling silver ball chain, resin, and flocking.

Denise Julia Reytan

Denise Julia Reytan- “Snapshots”

Dora Haralambaki - ceramic ring

Edith Bellod - collier en porcelaine de limoges : “kaléidoscope”

Annamaria Zanella – brooch

Andi Gut - ring

Tanel Veenre – “Orden for the one who is arriving”

Helfried Kodré - brooch

Helfried Kodré - ring, silver, lapislazuli – ring, gold, silver, turquoise, bronze, 2007

Aldo Mondino, BIC – cristallo di rocca, lapislazzuli e tappo in oro smaltato blu, esemplare unico – 2008

Aldo Mondino, BIC necklace

Paweł Kaczyński

Paweł Kaczyński – Silver and Steel Water Bracelet

Hannah Fewtrell-Bolton - restriction 3 – conceptual textile

Jean-Pierre Dussaillant- Bague “Cactus”

Anya Kivarkis – copper, silver, enamel brooch

Emiko Oye – duchess2_ Necklace from My First Royal Jewels Jewellery Collection. Repurposed LEGO necklace inspired by Cartier’s diamond, emerald and platinum necklace, and Harry Winston’s pendant, 1960. emiko-o 2008.

Enrica Prazzoli – Ives Klein (Alchimia – 2011)

Enrica Prazzoli – (from Alchimia) blue Klein collection rings 

Floor Mommersteeg – Pebble-necklace, nylon

Floor Mommersteeg – broche

Hana Karim  Ceramic Jewelry

Helen Britton – brooch 

Hanna Liljenberg -  Quinault 3, halssmycke järn, oljefärg, lintråd, silver

Babette Egerland- ring “Ballonschmuck” 925 Ag rhodiniert

Farah Bandookwala (UK) – blue hair brooch

Mikiko Minewaki- ‘toy-camera’ necklace

Katie Schutte – Cluster necklace – crocheted, electroformed, and powdercoated found wire, cubic zirconia

Shannon Carney ring

Kath Inglis  “Blue Pollinator” Brooch

Akiko Ban- collar – 2010  (from Alchimia)

Jillian Moore -  brooch-pendant ‘Cucurbits’ 2008 Fiberglass, resin, copper, paint, felt

Joanna Gollberg - prong series blue brooch

Sayumi Yokouchi - ‘Layered’ Brooch in plastic, silk thread, and stainless steel.

Karin Kato – ‘QU4DRO’ Brooch in sand, resin, and silver

Silvia Walz – “Under water” brooch-  Series: Burbujas   – silver, copper, resine, enamel, glas – 2010

Silvia Walz La visionaria (Geometria Series) Brooch

Tobias Alm - Summer series 2009 Necklace. Cotton, wood, paint

Jessica Calderwood - ‘Portrait of an Eye’ Brooch/Pendant – Enamel on copper, sterling, stainless steel

Gésine Hackenberg  – ‘blue white ruins’ ring

Carola Bauer necklace – Silver, enamel

Jacqueline Ryan 18kt gold and vitreous enamel brooch

Jean-François PEREÑA -  bracelet -cuir, lapis-lazuli, nacre, plexiglas (bleu), argent

Patricia Lemaire – Aspara la Bleue 1- 1999 défilé Lapidus

Anne Goldfarb – OUT OF AFRICA – Collier Soie, Argent, Fil d’aluminium – Afedap 2011

Andrea Janosik- Blue Brooch - sIlver and suede - 2007

Sue GREGOR – cuff

Gijs Bakker- Bracelet « Porsche bracelet » stéréolithographie, polyuréthane -, 2000

David Bielander – Enzian Brooch – titanium

Sam Tho Duong

Hanneke Paumen (NL) – Tulle blauw Collar (detail)- felt

Kate Bauman  - barnacle no.9 (ring) – enamel, copper, sterling silver

Anthony Tammaro – « neck object » – Gypsum/Epoxy/Silicone

Farah Bandookwala (UK) http://www.farahb.com- Parasite series: magnetic brooches – Rapid prototyped nylon, stainless steel, dye, rare earth magnets. Collection of brooches with interchangable magnetic backs

Melissa TOLAR  - Enamel, hand-cast gems, and pearl jewelry

Mirla Fernandes

Mirla Fernandes ring

Ralph Bakker “the Fly” – earrings

Yoko Shimizu – necklace – resin, pigment, silver

Yoko Shimizu  (from Alchimia school), necklace from the « transformation » series – 2010

Celio Braga, Brazil (Think Twice: New Latin American Jewellery exhibition)

Marta Mattsson- The Human Touch – Cricket brooch

Susanne Elstner, brosche

Farrah Al-Dujaili – Necklace – Copper, enamel paint, watercolour pencil, thread – 2010

Carolina Gimeno (Chile) resinas – bracelet

Shannon Carney – medium collar resin necklace

Helena Lehtinen- Gardens Collection, Blue brooch, 2011 Wood, thread, beads

MARIJKE DE GOEY – 1999 – Pièce unique. BAGUE « Curly » en or or et titane à patine bleue

Mirjam Hiller  brooch

Gemma Draper, Barcelona- brooch

Nora Fok  ring

Paolo Scura - ring 

some RINGS discovered here & there ……………

Each time I see great rings I think about the great « ring web site », « The Carrotbox » ! and my dream would be to help her to discover new rings ….. but she knows ALL about rings before everybody ! so keep up dreaming !

………….. and trying to STOP this post !!!! finding every hour new GORGEOUS rings !!!

Alina Alamorean

Julia  deVille

Lisbeth Nordskov ring – Nylon, sølv, elfenben og granater.

Susanne Klemm

Rita Marcangelo – silk (burnt) & silver rings

Lucia Massei- « Le parole vengono dopo  » 2011

Lucia Massei- 2 Pigmented shibuichi (silver & copper) rings

Patty Nieman – Ring (exhibition « Finger symbols » 2010)

Marcus Marguillier- 3rd hologram series ring

Ingjerd Hanevold – Norway

Ingjerd Hanevold – Norway

Medan Toril ring (saw on Helena Johansson blog)

Shannon Carney ring

Helena Johansson‘s contribution to the book New Rings: 500+ Designs from Around the World

Violaine Ulmer - céramique, argent

Tomasz Zaremski – Poland

Tomasz Zaremski (Poland) – rings

Amber O’Harrowseashell ring

Esther Knobel

Tasso Mattar

Marie Bonfils  (DK) – ‘Ode to Manfred’ ring

Katherine Wheeler existence ring

Susanne Klemm – sleeping-beauties – couldn’t resist to them …………

Joe Wood (US) – ball rings 1999 – cast sterling silver, with 18K gold liner

Augousta Themistocleous  – ‘ping pong’ ring – collection 2009

Melanie Moulhen – émail – bagues ? (blog Bijouterra)

Winfried Krueger ring 1999 (blog Bijouterra)

Sun Kyoung Kim

Iwaki Yu

Agata Friedman

Liisa Hashimoto – shoe ring

Margaret Bridgewater – ‘Floating’ rings

Anthi Voyatjes - « Death encapsulated » - Sterling silver, pearls, animal skull; hollow form construction

Keri Kwik (US) – ring

Kaylee Russotti

Robean Visschers so well-known « under-construction » structure ring -Gold, silver (oxidized)- 2006

Robean Visschers  - another construction/structure ring – glorious !

Lisa JUEN – ring (exhibition « Finger symbols » 2010)

Yoko Izawa - veiled rings (exhibition « Finger symbols » 2010)

Nora FOK – ring ?  (exhibition « Finger symbols » 2010)

Rhona HOGG (UK) ring

Jenny Llewellyn set of rings -  like jelly worms …..

Isabelle Hertzeisen – twist tie rings

Ashley Akers

BOOK

New Rings – 500+ Designs from Around the World – by Nicolas Estrada – Thames & Hudson, 272 pp – available in JUNE 2011 -

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GREAT RINGS saw on this Flickr page about « Finger symbols » exhibition  held in 2010 by Shetland Arts (Finger Symbols, an exhibition exploring rings and finger ornaments, curated by Mary Smith can be seen at Bonhoga Gallery, Weisdale, Shetland from 7 August to 5 September. 2010)

Felieke Van der Leest – ring ……. LOL !

VIDEO à voir ABSOLUMENT sur les bagues de l’expo  « Finger symbols » !

 

GREAT page too on this Flickr gallery : The Ring Show !!(The Ring Shows: ‘Then & Now’ and ‘Putting the Band Back Together’ at the Georgia Museum of Art in Georgia, US- It runs August 23-November 2, 2008)

Yael Krakowski

Vickie Sedman (US)

Julia deVILLE : OSSUARIUM – Viva la muerte

Taxidermy jewelry with Julia deVille , a Melbourne based jeweller.

“Death is a taboo subject. We’re so obsessed with looking young, finding ways to prolong life. We need to remember that every day is important, life is important. I want to inspire people to contemplate their own mortality, in a positive way. I’m not a morbid person, bit I’m not afraid of acknowledging that I’m mortal.”

« My jewellery is inspired by the Memento Mori jewellery of the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries and Victorian Mourning jewellery. I find the acceptance of death in these periods fascinating.
I work predominately in traditional gold and silversmithing, combined with materials that were once living such as jet, a petrified wood historically used in Victorian Mourning jewellery, human hair and taxidermy. I use these materials as a Memento Mori, or reminder of our mortality.
I incorporate the symbols of death through out my work because I think it is important to identify with the concept that we are in fact, mortal creatures. The nature of our culture is to obsess over planning the future, however in doing so, we forget to enjoy the present.
I consider my taxidermy to be a celebration of life, a preservation of something beautiful. I feel strongly about the fair and just treatment of animals and to accentuate this point I use only animals that have died of natural causes.  »

website: www.discemori.com

Julia deVille (AU) – ‘Mechanical Wing’ brooch, Kingfisher Wing, silver

Julia deVille – Parrot’s wing brooch

Julia deVille – Brooch ‘Gunclub’ 2004 – Mouse, diamonds, jet, 9ct gold

Julia deVille -  brooch  ‘Trophy Mouse’ – mouse, Jet, Gold, Glass

Julia deVille – claw ring
Julia deVille – Claw Brooch with Pearl

Julia deVille -  Claw With Lilies brooch

Julia deVille -  bird wing brooch

 Julia deVille -Lily Rook Necklace -memento mori –

Julia deVille -  Sarcophagus brooch with skeleton bracelet 2008 – Antique Box, 925 brooch & Bracelet

Julia deVille -Bird shoulder piece – Starling, Gold Leaf, Sapphires, Leather

Julia deVille – Bird skull brooch – Bird Skull, cubic zirconia, sterling silver – 2004

Julia deVille – Sparrow brooch – Sparrow, Silver, Gold  (THANKS to Apocatastasis blog)

 

expo « OSSUARIUM«  30 October – 29 November 2008
An ossuarium is a container or receptacle for holding the bones of the dead. Coffins, skeletons and deaths heads have historically been used to symbolise the imminence of our earthly demise. Julia deVille’s practice takes its cue from this tradition of ‘Memento Mori’ (reminders of mortality). In Ossuarium we see the results of meticulous research into the anatomy of the skeleton: DeVille has photographed, drawn and disassembled carefully sourced specimens; cast the pieces in a range of materials and finally re-assembled them into wearable objects and sculptural pieces. DeVille is well-known for combining traditional gold and silversmithing techniques with materials that were once living, such as jet, human hair and taxidermied animals. Ossuarium will examine both the structural and cultural meanings carried within the skeleton, the most tangible marker of a life lived.

 

Julia deVille -  Ring of Bones -bracelet, silver & bones

Julia deVille -  Onyx Earring with Hair

 

 

Julia deVille’s pieces are available in Coco de Mer in London. See her website for more details

 

VIDEO