I love buying and wearing jewellery but try as I might I've never yet persuaded Vince to buy me any. I think he's scared of getting it wrong, because I'm very fussy (subtle hint: a pair of Tiffany diamond studs!). Vince wears a watch occasionally and that's about as far as he gets with personal adornment. He says that jewellery should enhance the natural beauty of the wearer. So he might have been surprised by the latest exhibition at mima in Middlesbrough on The Modern Jewel: In Time and the Mind of Others. Here jewellery becomes more than an object to be worn; it is a piece of art.
I was fascinated by the exhibit "Charlotte's Choice", two sets of cast carob beads, one set from gold and one from silver. Each set has equal value which works out to be 251 silver and 4 gold beads. Charlotte Wood, a 19 year old fashion student and Teesside resident, can choose which set she keeps and wears. The other set will be kept for exhibiting by the museum.
I would have loved to have been in Charlotte's shoes when she was given the opportunity to commission artists Lin Cheung and Laura Potter to produce this jewellery for her. Still, I can influence her choice as visitors are invited to help Charlotte by putting a gold or silver token into a box. I opted for the silver; 251 beads would make a wonderful necklace! I wonder whether Charlotte will follow the visitors' advice or make her own choice?
In any case, her choice is not final: she is allowed to swap one set of beads for the other. The rules for this exchange are set out in a contract that is part of the exhibit, along with a book to record the details of the exchanges over time. So Charlotte and the beads will become part of an on-going living art project.
The exhibition is part of the museumaker project and is a collaboration between the artists, local residents, mima and other Middlesbrough museums.
You can read more about the artists and the projects here:
Vicky,
Love Your Art
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