CULT
co-curated with Marina Elenskaya
Design Museum Den Bosch, 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands (Formerly Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch)
October 2016 - March 2017
CULT deals with the elusive ways jewellery relates to, and is reflective of, culture and identity. It may act as a highly personal manifestation of style and individuality, it also can be indicative of subcultural groupings, real or imagined. At times it’s even a vehicle for protection, or protest.
For CULT, eight overlapping categories have been defined to help navigate the means through which this happens: identification, participation, non-conformation and fetish, persuasion, conformation, ritual and fantasy. How does wearing jewellery strengthen human relationships, or harness new kinds of social collectiveness? Is it subcultural, ideological, or both? Either way, the true allure of jewellery is cult.
Man’s resolve to show allegiance to powerful doctrines, to obscure social collectives, or to anything in between, gives jewellery its ultimate seductive power: the ability to speak about personal belonging in a way no other object can.
To wear jewellery is a private gesture. But publicly, it can subtly declare following, express devotion and act as a vehicle for protection, protest, even fantasy. To wear jewellery is a universally shared will.
Jewellery is cult.
https://www.current-obsession.com/cult/
CULT was curated by: Current Obsession – Marina Elenskaya and Kellie Riggs
Design Musem Den Bosch – Fredric Baas
Produced by: Current Obsession – Sarah Mesritz
Exhibition graphic design by: Linda Beumer
Scenographic elements by: Stefan Auberg