Thanks to the International Amber Association, I was given the opportunity to work with amber, a material I had never worked with before.
I decided to explore the unique beauty of amber in a novel way and to use guilloche engraving, an ancient and nearly extinct technique not typically associated with amber. This traditional technique is combined with the vibrant colors of enameled silver, creating a striking contrast. The decision to modify these million-year-old stones serves as a statement about the transformation of our world—suggesting that if we intervene, let it be to add brightness and vibrancy."
In science, evolution has been compared to a playful one that always remixes the same parts. Holding a fossil resin in your hands is a fascinating reminder of how everything that exists is connected and has been remixed over and over again for millions of years. In my brooches "Everything takes the shape of a fish", I playfully bring the material back to life.
The brooches are a collage of three parts, two of which are the same for each fish: the fin always has the same shape, the eye is a pin.
But in between is amber, which, left in its natural form, allows an infinite variety of variations.
Thanks to the human ability to imagine, it does not take more to bring the million-year-old material to life. The amber that has been preserved in the sea over all this time is transformed into sea creatures that shimmer and take on bizarre shapes like their original counterparts.
I use amber from leftovers from my other collection for the brooches. I don't manipulate the outer shape, but if the size and surface allows, I apply guilloché lines. The fins are made of fine silver, guilloché, embossed and enamelled in the same shape.
Click here to see more of my work with Guilloche and Enamel, Variations of Guilloche Patterns and other unique pieces