The Seven Deadly Sins by Emmanuel Lacoste

Artist list

Emmanuel Lacoste

During the 4th century, the monk Evagrius Ponticus published a collection of books, one for each moral transgression that anyone should avoid doing not to offend God. The final and still commonly accepted list of the Seven Deadly Sins has been defined by Thomas Aquinas during the 13th century - wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, gluttony. It was supposed to be a frame of reference for the ecclesiastics in order to keep a perfect spiritual behavior.

In March 2008, the Catholic Church announced its will to renew this list and add some social sins, like genetic manipulation, use of drugs, environmental pollution, poverty, etc. At this time, Emmanuel Lacoste found an interest in looking back to the original, primary and outdated list with a kind of soft irony. In his opinion, these seven sins shaped the frame of human weakness, because we wouldn`t be what we are without them.
                               
These sins are not really forbidden acts, but more what Thomas Aquinas used to call passions that submit us to temptation. What underlies these sins is desire. And what kind of object could be a better medium for desire than a jewelry piece? The exhibition “The Seven Deadly Sins” represents humoristic point of view about these temptations. Each piece of jewelry comes with a sculpture that represents a part of a woman's body. In these pieces the relation between the object and the body is more than just aesthetic, because every piece causes a physical punishment if the person who wears it surrenders to the related sin.
 
Human body is one of the last sanctuaries for individual creativity. These seven pieces are in line with a research for an accepted egocentric eccentricity.
 
 
“The perfection of the righteous is formed from the right composition of the seven deadly sins – just as white light is from the composition of the seven traditional colors.”
Paul Valéry


About the Artist

Emmanuel Lacoste is conceptual jewellery artist since 2007. Before that he finished AFEDAP Contemporary Jewellery School in Paris, where he also has been a regular speaker. Since 2012 he is a teacher in Paris College of Art, Fashion department, teaching “Wearable objects” class. He has shown his works in many group and solo exhibitions, as well as performances around the world.

Among all types of artistic creation, there is one essential thing that sets jewellery apart – it`s direct physical contact with the body. We wear it on and sometimes within our skin. This proximity creates a very intimate and personal relationship between us and the piece.  The work of Emmanuel Lacoste follows a line of research with multiple entries, structured around the relationship existing between the body and the piece, the piece and the body.

This body is anatomical, intimate, social, political or symbolic. It is matter and sometimes material. The medias - jewellery, sculpture, installation, performance - are used as tools adapted to the subject, they convey conceptual or formal intentions, often intuitive.