Märta Mattsson: United in Death

Artist list

Märta Mattsson

Concluding this year the gallery will present an extraordinary exhibition – from November 15 to 28 (2013) the Rigans and city guests will be invited to the jewellery art exhibition “United in Death” by the Swedish jewellery artist Märta Mattsson.

The artist describes her work as full with tension caused by simultaneous attraction and repulsion, when you do not want to look at something but you still do, when you do not want to see something but you still see.
“I take seemingly inappropriate materials, making ordinary and familiar objects look extraordinary and unfamiliar,” – the artist tells about her unusual jewellery.
She choses to work with insects, animal remains and other biological material, transforming them into astonishingly poetic and aesthetic jewellery.
Her art reminds of the devotion of ancient Egyptians to scarab – the symbol of sun and resurrection, as well as of the jewellery traditions of Victorian era where butterflies symbolized the short-livedness of beauty and life.
The exhibition of Marta Mattsson will remind its viewers of the cabinet of curiosity (Kunstkammer in German) and will evoke a sense of wonder.
Scenography by new and talented scenographer based in Riga Sintija Jēkabsone.

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Sometimes I see beauty in things that other people find strange or are even repulsed by. I become fascinated when there is something you do not want to see and the feeling you get when you do not want to look at something, yet you still do. My jewellery deals with the tension that lies between attraction and repulsion. I take seemingly inappropriate materials, making ordinary and familiar objects seem extraordinary and unfamiliar.

In the 18th century many new breeds of animals and plants were discovered and it was the main era of cabinets of curiosities. People collected rarities because it gave them the feeling of being in the presence of something extraordinary and marvellous. The cabinets of curiosities were not meant to sympathize with the creatures on display, only marvel over their oddity. In a world where not many new and exotic breeds are discovered I use dead creatures in my pieces to evoke wonder. The creatures are transformed and reborn; given a new life as objects of astonishment.