Julia deVille: Can The Voices Of The Living Be Heard By The Dead?

Artist list

Julia deVille

Iconic jewellery retailer e.g.etal mounts the largest collection of fine jewellery by famed taxidermist Julia deVille

Asymmetrical arrangements of diamonds (white, cognac & black), sapphires, emeralds and rubies combined with larger cushion cut lemon quartz, London blue topaz and garnets to name a few, set in 18 carat gold draw upon motifs from Renaissance, Baroque and Victorian jewellery tradition.

Julia’s work is informed by the acceptance of death expressed in Memento Mori jewellery of the 15th to 18th centuries as well as Victorian Mourning jewellery. The collection is created with then intention of becoming heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. A communion between the living and the dead. As for many of Julia’s title’s, the name for the exhibition is a line from a Nick Cave song.

Julia’s work is designed to serve as contemporary Memento Mori—a reminder of mortality. Her jewellery is characterised by the use of symbols of death from past eras. In examining mortality, the pieces incorporate motifs that encourages the wearer to identify with their own fate and challenge a prevalent culture that obsessively plans the future: forget an unknowable tomorrow and instead embrace the present.