Liesbet Bussche

Casually Dropped Pearl Necklaces

The pearl necklace has become one of the most iconic pieces of jewellery in the twentieth century and has taken its place both in fashion and in society. It is a jewel that everybody knows, and with which everyone has certain associations: from the dressed up grandmother to the glamorous Princess Diana, from the influential fashion designer Coco Chanel to contemporary movies stars such as Angelina Jolie and Scarlet Johansson. Some of the reasons I find it a fascinating subject to work with are the exemplary role it can play in embellishing our daily lives and its appearance occurring in the close to round shape of the pearls, the repetition and rhythm of the string and the variations in length resulting in endless ways of wearing.

The pearl necklace is synonymous with finesse. To transfer this characteristic on paper, I make use of the different ways in which a pearl necklace can fall, casually dropped on a bedside table after a night out. The project ‘Casually dropped pearl necklaces’ is a series of posters that acts simultaneously inside - in a gallery, a museum or a house - and outside, in the street of a city. I approach the poster as a medium by carefully cutting out the pearls, the string and the closure of five casually dropped pearl necklaces, leaving only an outline. The background I choose to place it against will form the pearl necklace. In the city, the posters are glued at different places whereby the arbitrary posters underneath give the pearl necklace its ever-varying colour. The five indoor designs are delicately framed onto a wooden backing that forms the necklace and which grains refer to the pearlescent colour of that famous piece of jewellery.

Dimensions indoor posters: 650 x 950 mm (posters) & 700 x 1000 mm (frame)
Dimensions outdoor posters: 700 x 1000 mm
Material: 160gsm matt paper