Animals can entertain, protect or comfort you; they can also hold a mirror up to your face. Sufficient reason for seeking their company. Represented on jewellery, they are always close at hand.

Since antiquity men has used animals in jewels as metaphor or decoration. Contemporary jewellers still make animal-jewellery, but their intentions have become much more diverse. The technical solutions are no longer limited to working in metal: nowadays animals are drawn, crocheted, sculpted or blown in glass. Some artists carefree use printed images or apply plastic animals made for toys or model making. Even actual animalparts can be detected in some pieces.

Galerie Rob Koudijs from Amsterdam made a selection from the surprisingly diverse, international supply of animal-jewellery. Though expression and content are dominant in autonomous jewellery, nearly all the pieces in the exhibition are a joy to wear. The very few pieces which are only meant as objects, still employ a jewellery-vernacular. The cooperation between CODA and the gallery gives the opportunity, unusual in a museum, to buy the works which are on display.

Ward Schrijver

Participating artists:
Alexander Blank, David Bielander, Helen Britton, Sebastian Buescher, Gemma Draper, Jantje Fleischhut, Xavier Ines Monclús, Felieke van der Leest, Sari Liimatta, Felix Lindner, Hiroki Masuzaki, Ted Noten, Karen Pontoppidan, Katja Prins, Roos van Soest, Nelli Tanner, Francis Willemstijn.