Inverted Vanities

2016
Edition of 1
keshi pearls, 18ct gold, poison
.

Inverted Vanities is a contemporary take on symbolic works of art meant to remind one that life is fleeting, death is imminent, and that one should take solace in the spiritual rather than the material. Unlike traditional vanitas objects which were abstract in nature and symbolically alluded to the inevitably of death, Inverted Vanities is literal in providing the means by which to end life.

Each pearl skull is coated in enough poison to kill an adult human. The intimate proximity of a deadly piece of jewellery on one’s person, creates in the wearer a psychological compulsion loop, such that the knowledge of the ease with which one could take one’s life serves as an inescapable reminder of the fragility of existence and the emptiness of worldly pursuits. And just as in the vanitas painting where the pleasure evoked in the depiction of a material subject is in conflict with the moralistic message, the paradox of wearing death is that it is a positive reaffirmation of the value of life.

Inverted Vanities is a memento mori couched in the tradition of religious iconography, but one updated for a contemporary world awash in triviality and searching for a sense of self-ness in an age of narcissism.

Trinity set comprising ring, thread earring and straight pin featuring a Keshi pearl skull set in 18 kt gold.

IVi . Ring : 100mg of arsenic ≈ when licked results in death within a few hours.

IVii . Earring : 400mg of cyanide ≈ when dipped in a hot drink results in death within minutes.

IViii . Pin : 120µg batrachotoxin ≈ when scratched into the skin results in death within seconds.

In collaboration with Shinji Nakaba.