Three unique brooches, together representing a group of displaced people.


Unfortunately, there are large groups of refugees worldwide. As part of a group, you become anonymous and often invisible as a fellow human being. I wanted to give a face to the people behind the numbers in the media.

On the backs of shards of white glazed tiles, I spotted lots of different structures and shades of colour. They are part of the demolition waste used for walking paths. By grinding the shards, they changed from unappealing waste into cabochons. Their white sides form a group of simple ovals, but their backside turns them into individual cabochons. In that sense, they portray the human faces that lie behind the numbers. These portraits are dangled underneath the pin when worn, like refugees at the mercy of their destiny.

A set of three brooches and a plinth form together one single object. The pedestal confers on the brooches the status of a bust. The poem that describes this piece consists of nine stanzas. I made nine brooches that form three objects.

With this work, I took part in Eureka. A competition organised by gallery Friends of Carlotta on the occasion of their 25th anniversary. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they had to cancel the contest and the accompanying exhibition. They did, however, publish an online catalogue. Are you curious about the eureka feeling of the 86 other participants? Click here to download the Eureka catalogue.

 

I also wrote the BLOG Eureka about the creation of this series and the work process.

Neglected-respected #1 brooch-object

€535.00

Neglected-respected #1 brooch-object

€535.00

2020

one-of-a-kind

sterling silver, 935 silver, found ceramic tile, alpaca pin, oak wood, brass


marks 925, master's mark
brooch 1; terracotta tile with honeycomb pattern

height 55mm  /  2.17 Inch

width 58mm  /  2.28 Inch

depth 18mm  /  0.71 Inch


brooch 2; terracotta tile with stripe pattern

height 51mm  /  2.01 Inch

width 46mm  /  1.81 Inch

depth 17mm  /  0.67 Inch


brooch 3; white clay tile with diamond pattern

height 50mm  /  1.97 Inch

width 47mm  /  1.85 Inch

depth 18mm  /  0.71 Inch


plinth; oak with separate holder for wall mounting

height 60mm  /  2.36 Inch

depth 60mm  /  2.36 Inch

length 190 mm  /  7.48 Inch


This object consists of 3 unique brooches with a plinth and a separate holder for wall mounting. The brooches may be worn separately and the tile can be turned with the glazed white side or with the pattern facing forward.


Please feel free to contact me for more details. contact