I have this eerie attraction to mourning jewelry (and antique shops); In my time, I’ve stumbled upon a handful of Victorian-era rings set with human teeth, and lockets and/or brooches capturing a snip of hair. The purpose of these pieces of jewelry being to preserve the memory of a lost love. On a more contemporaneous note, a company called LifeGem offers services that create diamonds by carbon-capture and processing of cremation ashes or a lock of hair. The result is a “human” diamond, which can come in an array of colors. Kinda creepy huh?
Mourning and death aside, I stumbled upon the work of Melanie Bilenker and was awed by her spin on the traditions of memory-based jewelry. She creates little domestic drawings, heralding memories of the routine, the private, the mundane…taking a bath, tucking hair behind one’s ear, fastening a belt…all with her own hair. How the heck she manages to manipulate single strands of hair like that is beyond me. Her pieces are truly remarkable, and so very detailed.
Hairpin (Brooch, 2006)
Brassiere (Locket, 2009)
Button (Brooch, 2007)
Arms (Brooch, 2005)
Cookies (Brooch, 2009)
Bouquet (Brooch, 2009)
Sunday Night (Locket, 2007)
Brushing Teeth (Brooch, 2009)
Tucking (Brooch, 2009)
The focus on the simplicity of the day-to-day is actually quite refreshing. I can get lost in these little scenarios, as they speak to my everyday too.
Melanie Bilenker’s work is available for purchase at Sienna Gallery.
// Photo Credits: All photographs courtesy of Melanie Bilenker
