Vernissage of Iwona Tamborska’s jewellery exhibition “Fairy Tales Written with Silver” at the District Museum in Toruń 2023

Interview for TV Toruń https://tvtorun.pl/31537/bizuteryjne-basnie

June 24, 2023, District Museum in Toruń, Old Town Hall, Old Town Square, Toruń, Poland

Midsummer Night, exhibition “Fairy Tales Written in Silver” – opening

“Can there be a better night for storytelling than Midsummer Eve? I think we are all hungry for such magic, because reality is difficult, it is painful. However, jewelry has always symbolized something: status, it was a form of an amulet, an intangible bond with someone, from whom it was received. Its colorful stones, craftsmanship and finesse of workmanship, as well as its inaccessibility have always stimulated the imagination. They made us dream that these gems once belonged to princesses, they were credited with magical power and extraordinary stories – therefore today I would like to tell you fairy tales and stories that will inspire you to let your imagination run wild. I think that even though jewelry has now disappeared from everyday life, when we see beautiful objects, they arouse a spark of childish dreams in us. Vivienne Becker, famous art historian , once said that in ancient times, goldsmiths were viewed almost as priests because they had almost direct contact with the gods through their inspired work. I think this is a beautiful concept, especially close to me, because it takes me at least 1 month to a year to create one work. For me, jewelry is a miniature symbol and message of the person who wears it. It informs about the person’s sensitivity and what he or she considers beautiful. That says a lot. At the same time, for me jewelry is one of the most important manifestations of art and human skills enclosed in one tiny object. It requires not only the constant development of man as a creator and artist who has something important to say to the world, but also of man as a craftsman, because it does not forgive the slightest technical mistakes. In addition, it has a user factor that is not present in painting or sculpture, and who expects great durability and comfort from a work of art. The value of this enormous work, which is done with your own hands, mind and soul, is even greater when it is made of unique, beautiful and expensive materials. Such an expense is also a risk and sacrifice for every artist-jeweler, which, in my opinion, somehow touches the “sacrum”, i.e. sacrificing oneself for something more important than oneself – the act of creation. Then, in my eyes, an unquestionable treasure of humanity is created, representing what is considered the essence of beauty in a given era. I would be very pleased if someone who has my work felt that it is not just an object, but a real work of art that was created thanks to hard work, conscious dedication, deep emotions and has a real story behind the very fact of its creation ” – a fragment of the speech opening the exhibition of goldsmith’s art by Iwona Tamborska.

Description of the exhibition can be found in the previous entry: https://rekamistworzone.com/en/iwona-tamborska-solo-exhibition-in-the-regional-museum-in-torun/

The moment has come when I would like to once again officially thank everyone for coming to my opening at the District Museum in Toruń. Your presence on this day means a lot to me, because it is a moment that highlights a very important era in my life. I don’t know what will come after it, but this Midsummer’s Eve was certainly some kind of a mile stone – a marking of what had been achieved over 13 years and paying respect to it. To be honest, I think it was one of the most important moments in my life, so I will remember very clearly all of you who came to celebrate with me on this day. I know that you came from very far away, from the other end of the country, sometimes from beyond its borders, and I am very grateful for that. Especially also for the fact that, despite the fact that there were quite a lot of us and it was very hot at times, you stayed to listen to my stories. Statistics say that there were 50 people on the day of the opening. There were 11,560 people visiting the exhibition during its 1.5 month of availability. Thank you very much again. I would especially like to thank representatives of the “Polskie Media” and Mrs. Barbara Cieślak “Jubilerzy.info” as media representatives who also later reviewed the exhibition.

Photo report from the opening, photo: Krzysztof Deczyński

I would also like to thank once again the director Ms. Mierzejewska and director Ms. Nierzwicka for hosting my exhibition in this wonderful Museum and for all the help in bringing it to life. The District Museum in Toruń, the Old Town Hall, is an extraordinary place inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and in its interior you can admire works by Jan Matejko, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jacek Malczewski, Zdzisław Beksiński, and until August 15, 2023, you could also admire mine. Toruń itself is a magical city, like made of gingerbread, where there is something to discover at every turn.

I would also like to thank you very much for the wonderful accommodation in the Museum guest rooms and the Molus apartment. A particularly nice gesture was the presence of “Buskowianka” mineral water (my city of birth) in the room.

Together with many museum employees (including Mr. Stenka, Ms. Kroplewska, Mr. Kurkowski) and, above all, with the tireless technical department (led by Mr. Paweł Jabłoński), we worked hard for 2 weeks to build an exhibition allowing for immersion in the world of “Fairy Tales Written with Silver“. Thank you all very much for your commitment and help. Without it the exhibition would not look so beautiful.

Organizing a jewelry exhibition is very demanding – starting from finding the perfect facility in terms of safety, an appropriate location with space and assortment enabling the exhibition, appropriate spot lighting in a specific color, availability of a date, but also collecting a sufficient number of exhibits of appropriate artistic value, which are created over the course of months and at considerable financial expense. It took me several years to find a place that met all the above conditions and to prepare everything on my part. It is not without reason that jewelry exhibitions are a great rarity, not only in Poland, but in general.

My exhibition was enriched by the sound of birds singing throughout the entire area of two rooms. Why birds singing? I chose the medium of jewelry because I think of it similarly to how I think of birds. In our everyday, busy lives, we don’t really notice them, we don’t think about them, we don’t feel that they are important. However, when a beautiful bird suddenly crosses our path and lets us hear it singing, we feel as if an incredible, enchanted spark of joy appeared before our eyes. This small silver bell has the power to make us smile and make us appreciate the wonders of the world. I try to make my jewelry like that. I want it to be a representation of the little wonders of the world. I feel that when I create my little works of art and someone wears them, I give them a little fairy tale to carry with them, a little miracle that spreads beauty.

The wall of one of the rooms was decorated with sketches of jewelry, just like in my studio. An inquisitive eye would be able to find among the sketches on the wall those from which I learned the final execution of the works shown at the exhibition. In the videos below, I pay special attention to the paper cards with the GemGeneve logo, which I received during an exhibition in Switzerland and which served as sketchbooks for me to design new jewellery for the future.

sketches

There were also photos of jewelry decorating on the walls, taken by Fotogru Rafał Ryziński and Mr. Krzysztof Deczyński at the special request of the Museum.

Photos by Krzysztof Deczyński:

: Okazały srebrny pierścień na 3 palce przedstawiający kwitnące osty zapylane przez trzmiele, zdobione ametystami.

: fot. Krzysztof Deczyński

In the second room there was a monitor showing films reveiling the secrets of creating jewelry in the workshop. The room walls were decorated with 1.5 m high photos of Margo Skwara’s portraits with models wearing my jewelry. I will write about these unique photos below.

Below I will show close-ups of the fruit of our work, but I want to first tell you about the additional heroes of this exhibition. And this heroine is Margo Skwara Photography. She is a fantastic photographer from Luxembourg (https://www.margoskwara.com), who some time ago responded to my appeal on Facebook, in which I asked creative photographers who would like to do a photo session with my jewelry, to contact me. When I saw her works, I was very impressed by her sensitivity and artistic sense for the people she portrays. Margo made 4 portraits of models with my jewelry for me, which perfectly reflect the nature of my work. All photos are hypnotic, magical and masterfully balanced. The contrast between the seemingly carefree age of these girls and their maturity and inner wisdom that they seem to possess seems to perfectly reflect what I include in each of my works.

2 of these portraits always travel with me to fairs and exhibitions. This time, the Museum decided to print two more portraits to complete the series and complement the exhibition space. The exhibition is incomplete without them. I cared about them so much that I gave up putting the objects’ signatures on the walls (instead, they hang in the form of books next to each display case). I am very glad that these brilliant works were presented in the District Museum in Toruń, giving the exhibition an additional atmosphere.

The fact that my work affects people gives me a sense of meaning in my actions and life as an artist. One of the people who visited my exhibition is Ms. Dagmara Litwiniec – an extremely talented photographer who shared a photo report from the exhibition on her profile. Since I tried to take photos of my jewellery pieces at the exhibition, I know how difficult it is to get such attractive shots of jewellery in the dark and in the presence of velvet that absorbs light. I encourage you to look at these atmospheric photos – they perfectly reflect the charm of the exhibition. Thank you very much, Mrs. Dagmara, for visiting the exhibition, wonderful message and beautiful photos! You can find her on Facebook and Instagram.

phot. Dagmara Litwiniec: “Strzelec” naszyjnik, Iwona Tamborska

Photos by Dagmara Litwiniec:

The author of the photo from the poster advertising the entire exhibition is Łukasz Opaliński from Apertura Studio – the same one who took the photo of the “Amethyst in Irises” ring – which caused a bit of a stir on the Internet and made me remember the world’s connoisseurs and promoters of jewelry art. His work can be found here https://www.behance.net/lukaszopalinski

Fot. Łukasz Opaliński: “Ametyst w irysach” pierścień I. Tamborska

The “Sagittarius” was the cover of the exhibition because it is very close to me. It can be found in the first room of the exhibition, in a glass case with mirrors. Thanks to it, you can also admire the back of the pendant and the archer’s sapphire heart. It was also the cover of the invitations.

Fairy Tales written with silver – poster

Fairy Tales written with silver – poster – fot. Łukasz Opaliński

Invitation to the exhibition’s opening

Sagittarius – This is a piece from the series “Zodiac signs”. The silver pendant depicts a warrior with a bow and arrow. Her bow is decorated with orange and yellow sapphires (top and bottom). She has beetle wings and a bird’s tail, suggesting she is an airborne creature. One of the myths about the “Sagittarius zodiac” says that only Chiron was a type of Centaur, who was half human and half horse. Other Centaurs were born of the sun and clouds. She is one of those connected to the sun and sky. Her heart is made of blue sapphire. Because she is a warrior, her hair is tied in a ponytail. It is made of peacock feathers. Her tail is decorated with blue sapphires and Australian opals. I personally found them in a rock in Australia and cut them especially for this project. They have beautiful fiery red sparks which are a very rare sight in Australian opals and make them more valuable. She also has a quiver full of hand-cut arrows, decorated with a garnet. Because she is a hunter, she also has her prey on a silver chain – a small fly. This fly is 40 million years old because it is a valuable inclusion in amber. Her body is gold plated. The chain is made of 13 arrows (hand-cut) shot by Lady Sagittarius, the clasp is also made of an arrow. A total of 20 arrows and 9 main stones are present on the necklace, intentionally giving the number “29”, i.e. “2+9=11”, which means “master number” in numerology. This is also the hidden date of my birth, November 29 (Sagittarius is a November sign). The necklace is decorated with Zambian emeralds, garnets and sapphires.

What could have been seen at the “Fairy Tales Written in Silver” exhibition? I will be showing a collection of 42 exhibits grouped as they were presented at the exhibition. I’ll start with the first room.

Part 1

“Fairy Tales written with silver”, showcase 1

The first display stages a rocky area, and each rock on display is not accidental. These are minerals that I personally collected from different parts of the world. These are mostly minerals (and every stone contains crystals) that are formed in areas with volcanic activity. That’s why the “Iceland” bracelet is placed centrally “enthroned” – its form is supposed to be associated with a harsh island, full of volcanic rocks and caves. The bracelet is empty inside and even allows you to look inside through the numerous holes and “through”, as if into a mysterious cave. The bracelet is decorated with numerous natural stones of volcanic origin: garnets, olivines and gold veins. https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/iceland-bracelet/

Iceland – bracelet

Next to it, as if on a rocky peak, rises the Castle – ring with mini amber waterfalls, a main chamber made of smoky quartz and towers with topazes. The ring for the exhibition was borrowed from the private collection of the Hilenbrand Silver Gallery.

Castle – ring

Below, also on loan from a private collection, is a dagger-shaped pendant made of meteorite called “Seymchan” (“Seymchan Spark“). I framed it in silver so that it looked like a dagger with a handle decorated with the faces of mysterious deities (some Mayan/Aztec).

Seymchan Spark

The pendant “Swallow’s Tower” with an icicle of amethyst, around which birds fly, hovers over everything. The name of the pendant comes from the height at which I watched the swallows learning and drawing their shapes in motion. The exhibit for the exhibition was also borrowed from a private collection.

Swallow’s Tower

Next to each cabinet there is a “mini book” with descriptions of each of the works.

Part 2

This showcase displays 2 objects. The first is the “Waterfall” necklace suspended in the air. This procedure was intended to draw attention to the structure of amber, which is full of small bubbles. It was used as a background for a woman bathing in a waterfall. The impression of movement and a water bath is enhanced by strings of small, faceted fluorites and tanzanites, arranged in tones from white to blue-violet. The threading process itself took 24 hours of work.

The second, crystal necklace, is titled “The Heart of Medusa“. This work was created for an exhibition at the Yes Gallery, and in Geneva during the GemGenève – Geneva International Gem & Jewelery Show, it attracted the attention of Tatyana Pfaifer from the Jewelery Masterpiece Awards.

The main theme of this jewelry piece is a woman who is like Medusa – a mythical creature, also a bit divine. This is an allegory for how, at the beginning of many relationships, women are initially treated as goddesses, surrounded by respect and joy from their presence in someone’s life. Her body is made of an icicle of natural rock crystal, which the author found during one of the geological expeditions in Lower Silesia. The whole is kept in ice-white colors, except for its heart, which is made of Ethiopian rainbow opal. Rock crystal and opal structurally do not differ much, because they are a compound of silicon dioxide. The rainbow colors in the opal come from water molecules that are trapped between the silica chains and refract the light entering inside, creating the impression of a rainbow. These colors are a symbol of the spark in the soul of every woman, making them unique and extraordinary. Medusa holds a piece of her heart in her hand, which she offers to someone. Women, no matter how divine they seem to be, give their hearts when they love. What happens to that spark and themselves often depends on the person who receives the heart: whether the spark dies and the heart becomes ordinary rock crystal, or whether it survives and continues to be full of burning colors. The work was inspired by the sculpture by Forest Rogers entitled Octopoid.

Part 3

This display case contains a collection of jewelry with the least message, but created out of pure joy and love for nature and its little treasures. There are earrings with mice picking grapes (“Beaujolais Nouveau“), a brooch with a Harvest mouse collecting dandelion seeds (Dandelion and the Mouse), a watch-ring with rabbits (“Bunny watch-ring“), earrings with swallows, a ring with a long tailed tit and its an elven rider (“Flying Lollipop Ring“), earrings with Watermelon Parrots and a ring with a nightingales’ nest (“Nightingales’ Nest“). Many of them have their own stories, but I won’t paste them all here. If you are interested, please visit https://rekamistworzone.com/en/shop-2/ where each item is carefully described. However, here I will tell the story of the “Flying Lollipop Ring”.

Flying Lollipop Ring
was inspired by a story from the “Jelenia Góra Bestiary” by TeSz, who runs the website www.jeleniajestspoko.pl and the Facebook profile Jelenia jest SPOKO. According to this beautiful story, in the forests of Lower Silesia, long tailed tits (also called in English “Flying lollipops”, due to their long tails) are birds that wake up before all the others. Together with the forest sprites, they work hard, flying from nest to nest to wake up other birds so that they can welcome the rising sun with their songs. This is a very tiring task, so when they return to their nests to rest, other birds bring them grains and other gifts in gratitude. There is a small forest spirit (gilded) sitting on a the bird, holding a grain (made of Ethiopian opal). A collar with a silver bell (gilded) hangs around the bird’s neck – to make it easier for it to wake up other birds. The bird’s eyes are made of labradorites, which flash blue depending on the incident light. The tail is also decorated with a raw piece of Ethiopian opal, which plays the role of a drop of morning dew.

Silver ring with a long tailed tit and an elven rider. A jewellery piece inspired by a fairy tale from the “Jelenia Góra Bestiary”.

Part 4

This showcase contains a collection of narrative works inspired by the style of the Art Nouveau masters. 3 winged women and a castle. Sagittarius, Fortuna, Warrior – each of them tells a story.

Fortuna tells about the happiness and pain that happens to us in life.

Dragonfly woman, as goddess of Fate, decorated with emeralds and rubies.

The Warrior tells about the strength and will to fight in the face of adversity.

Silver pendant with an Art Nouveau warrior dragonfly motif.

Sagittarius is about freedom and independence.

Silver necklace with a female-warrior Sagittarius, adorned with sapphires, opal, garnets and emeralds.

Each of them is decorated with emeralds, sapphires, rubies and opals. Each of them has its own unique charm. This cabinet also contains the Black Castle – ring which main chamber is made of a unique amethyst fragment and the turrets are made of opals. Perhaps it could be where they live?

Pierścień z czarnym zamkiem i ametystem.

Part 5

The display case placed centrally in the first room presents complex works that are intended to decorate the entire hand. Two of them were borrowed from their exceptional owners, for which I am extremely grateful. The first one is a spectacular silver bracelet in the shape of an octopus that wraps around the entire hand (“Octopus“). It is inspired by the famous Whoopie Goldberg bracelet by Sevan Bıçakçı, which the actress wore during the 2016 Oscars.

The second one is “Sea Foam“, composed of a bracelet and a ring with a structure and elements associated with the sea.

The third one (“Triptych“) belongs to me. It is a very important work for me because it initiated the desire to create narrative, complex works whose function is not everyday life, but freedom of creation. I built it for a competition in Japan, where it was exhibited at the Tokyo Metropolitan Artspace. It was named a finalist of the Saul Bell Design Award (USA) 2017, was presented in Paris during Bijorhca 2018, is published in the French designer catalog DuoDeci Paris, and has been presented twice in the National Museums in China (2018, 2021). The jewelry shows a scene where all three elements (the bracelet, the ring and the thimble) have an important role. The ring is a floating island with a treasure – a bottle of honey. All the creatures in this job are racing to get it. The rider of the little butterfly (thimble) does not want to take part in this race, but she does not know that Fate controls her destiny in this story. Fate is represented by a face on the underside of the thimble. You can read the whole story here https://rekamistworzone.com/tale-jewelry-triptych-tamborska/

Now the description concerns the exhibits collected in the second room.

Part 6

Time for the second room, where there are prints of photos by Margo Skwara Photography. The display case with mirrors contains works on the theme of water. Thanks to the mirrors, you can see the details on the “Australian Twilight” bracelet, on which surface, surrounded by 49 sapphires, platypuses swim.

Bracelet with platypuses swimming in the river around Australian opal and sapphires.

The second bracelet, which secrets can be discovered thanks to the mirror and the map hanging behind the display case, is the “Sea Foam Map“. This treasure map is marked inside the bracelet.

Silver bracelet stylized as sea foam, with a hidden map engraved on the inside.

On the pedestal there is a “Pisces” brooch referring to the zodiac sign.

Above them hangs “Lady Rain” – a personification of the idea of rain, resembling the shape of the Japanese teru-teru-bōzu rain doll. When moved, the necklace resembles the sound of raindrops.

Silver rain personification with topaz rain drops.

Part 7

A display case dominated by amethysts and the spirit of spring. One of the works exhibited there has this name: “Spirit of Spring“. The silver necklace is inspired by the work of Rene Lalique. The Spirit of Spring has giant butterfly-like wings decorated with amethysts. I chose this stone because I associate Spring with violets – one of the first flowers that appear when the sun and Spring butterflies begin to appear. The butterfly is connected to a necklace of faceted amethysts. Its uneven line corresponds with the wings’ frizzled character.

On the pedestal is the ring created this Spring – “Crocus Ring“. The ring was inspired by the carpet of crocuses that covered the lawn in front of my house in early Spring 2023. I started working on it when the first flowers bloomed, I finished when the last one faded. The insides of the flower cups are decorated with yellow sapphires, but one has a natural dome of purple amethyst inside, and the other has golden Baltic amber. The openwork structure of the ring is decorated with yellow and blue sapphires. When you shake the ring gently, you can hear the quiet ringing of the silver bell inside.

The last jewelry piece in the showcase is “The Amethyst Butterfly“.
The pendant (which also has the function of a brooch) is based on a real, huge butterfly which wings have been hand-covered with many thin layers of silver. As a result of this process, the wings are completely burned off, leaving a perfect imprint of the butterfly’s spirit. To decorate them, I used the old Korean keum-boo technique, which consists in melting 24 carat gold flakes into the silver surface. The center of the butterfly is adorned by intensely purple ametrine.

Part 8

Another display case tells stories from the world next to ours, a little lower, at the height of the grass. Presented there:

1. Necklace with Amethyst Beetle

Silver pendant with a beetle, richly decorated with amethysts. On the underside, its belly is filled with quartz drusen covered with pink-purple titanium oxides.

2. The brooch “John the Buttler” borrowed especially for the exhibition from a private collector – with a beautiful rhinoceros beetle, which on its back carries a cup of tea for its mistress (detachable) filled with amber. https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/john-the-buttler-brooch/

Silver brooch with a beautiful rhinoceros beetle that carries a cup of tea for its mistress (detachable) filled with amber on its back. John’s back is decorated with an intricate pattern and synthetic emeralds.

3. “Proposal” pendant with a frog-rascal who carries an emerald ring for the One who will accept his love https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/the-proposal-necklace-with-dart-frog/

Chrysoprasis necklace with dart frog holding an engament ring with an emerald.

4. Extravagant “Small Town ring” with Fuller’s thistle and smaller thistles, visited by two bumblebees. The entire ring is richly decorated with amethysts, sapphires, tsavorites and peridots. https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/small-town-ring-with-thistles/

An impressive three-finger silver ring depicting flowering thistles pollinated by bumblebees, decorated with amethysts.

5. i 6. Right next to the “Small Town” there are pins with two bumblebees: Moon and Amethyst

Silver bumblebee pin decorated with orange sapphires and a moonstone.

7. There is also a modest but elegant men’s brooch with a small “Sapphire beetle” richly decorated with sapphires and gold flakes https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/carabus-coriaceus-brooch/

Black-gold beetle with sapphires

Part 9

The ninth showcase contains jewelry pieces inspired by the motif of flowers. The necklace presented above all is called “Orchard and Amber Magnifier“. It was borrowed for the exhibition from a private collector. The necklace was inspired by an amber specimen that works like a magnifying lens. Additionally, it contains a blade of grass (which is 40 million years old) inside. I wanted to use these 2 extraordinary features, which is why the necklace itself is a garden, the details of which can be viewed with a magnifying glass. On the necklace there are apple blossoms with amber buds, raspberry fruit, a dragonfly (enamel), a bee, a butterfly, a bird flying to its blue egg. The magnifying glass is removable from the necklace, so it can be worn in a shorter version (without a magnifying glass) and longer.
https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/orchard-and-the-amber-magnifier/

The necklace is a garden, the details of which can be viewed with an amber magnifying glass. The necklace features apple flowers with amber buds, raspberry fruits, a dragonfly (enamel), a bee, a butterfly, and a bird flying to its blue egg. The magnifying glass is removable from the necklace

Below the necklace is a “Woman – Rose” brooch, which is also on display courtesy of a private collector who lent the work. It is a silver brooch that is only seemingly in the shape of a rose. In fact, various aspects and forms associated with femininity (faces expressing various emotions) are hidden in its leaves. The rose bud is a beautiful specimen of a white baroque pearl.

Next to it is the second brooch “Secret love” – https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/secret-love-brooch/
A silver brooch with a rose, which seemingly seems to be just a beautiful sculpture of a flower. It really hides the secret of love between a rose petal and a leaf that share a kiss.

Silver rose brooch with rubies and a hidden kiss.

Another jewelry piece in this display case is “Lady Orchid” – a silver brooch/pendant in the shape of an orchid flower. Inside the petals hides the spirit of the flower. The lower petal of the orchid is made of a pink pearl that naturally took this unusual shape. The orchid, according to many legends, is a symbol of femininity. https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/lady-orchid/

Silver brooch/pendant in the shape of an orchid flower. Flower goddess is hidden inside the petals and a pink pearl.

Part 10

The flat showcase in the second room presents 3 jewelry pieces. One of them is “The Treasure of Tanzania“, recently published by Richa Goyal Sikri on her social media channels. This necklace has a natural tanzanite crystal and tells the story of a gate to Paradise guarded by two mythological half-birds and half-women, i.e. Gamajuns https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/treasure-of-tanzania/

The middle piece is “Fouquet’s Broken Heart” inspired by George Fouquet’s original work and his opal “in pieces”. Between the cracked fragments of my opal there are tiny cubic zirconias that emphasize the presence of the crack lines. This is a reference to the Japanese technique of repairing broken vessels with gold, “kintsugi”, and to the aesthetic philosophy that says that beauty lies in imperfection, in what is fragile, ephemeral, worn, worn and worn by the tooth of time. https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/fouquets-broken-heart/

The last jewelry piece is called “City at Night” – The necklace depicts a magnificent 5-horned beetle, which wing covers are decorated with a motif of urban skyscrapers (black enamel). https://rekamistworzone.com/en/produkt/city-at-night-beetle-necklace/

Silver necklace in a form of a giant black beetle with gold wings, decorated with enamel skyscrapers.

Part 11

In the last display case there is a set of 32 chess pieces along with a hand-engraved chessboard, decorated with garnets and zircons (“Fairy Tale Chess“). Chess sets the scene of 2 fairy-tale armies getting ready for battle. The white army is led by a bird-winged king and a water-wielding queen (drops of amber rain sent from a wand). Their helpers are bishops (pagan, masked priests), jumpers (riders of butterflies flying out of flowers), and towers (trees with amber masks). Pawns are mud golems magically created by queens. The whole is made of gilded silver, bronze and amber.
The black army is led by a bat-winged king, a fire-wielding queen, and their helpers: pagan priests, jumpers (riders of beetles that fly out of mushrooms), black ents, and black mud golems. The whole is made of oxidized silver, bronze, amber and garnets.
The chess was exhibited at the National Museum of China. The material for their creation is sponsored by Dremel.

The original video was recorded by the National Museum of China (Yunnan Province Branch) and can be found on this website https://www.bilibili.com/video/av459490090/

Building beautiful things with your hands demands huge sacrifices. It demands absolute concentration, work in complete solitude, work in darkness with no sunlight (it makes the flame invisible), vast amount of time, struggling with constant pressure, that even the smallest mistakes and oversights have ruinous effects on the entire work, struggling with the feeling of the work being not-good-enough and, of course, tremendous money investments. Sometimes such work takes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months, that combine into one indistinguishable mass of time. Sometimes I think whether anyone at all knows, that I am alive. Sometimes I think whether this sacrifice has any sense at all.

The most common messages, that I get, are more or less elaborate propositions of “making me famous”/”promoting your brand”/”exposure” for such an imaginative price, that makes me laugh. I have a feeling, that an “artist” and his/her ego, dream of being free has become an incredibly tempting last link in the food chain, a pony that everyone wants to ride. It made me extremely tired and cautious.

But I also get messages, that dispel this acid fog and give me some breath of fresh air – I am very thankful for those.

The exhibition has ended. It was a testimony, that I am alive and why I am alive. Once again, I would like to thank everyone who visited it, and there were apparently 11,560 of you.