The Meaning or Meaninglessness of Life. Jewellery Artists read Pär Lagerkvist’s Guest of Reality. Platina at Destination Bijou Jewellery Week 2026

Artist list

Karin Roy Andersson, Sofia Björkman, Judit Fritz, Pierce Healy, Agnieszka Knap, Auli Laitinen, Mona Wallström

On a hill above the town Cagnes-sur-Mer lies the medieval village Haut de Cagnes listed by UNESCO as a “Ville et Métiers d’Art.” At the top lies the beautiful castle, Château Grimaldi, and a museum dedicated to contemporary jewelry, L’Espace Solidor. 

Destination Bijou is organized by the city of Cagnes-sur-Mer and curated by Isabelle Busnel, Sébastien Carré, and Juan Riusech. The entire castle will be filled with jewellery art. There are rooms for several exhibitions, and lectures and workshops will also be organized.

PLATINA will exhibit in a hall in the castle, the Salle des Audiences, where we will show the exhibition The Meaning or Meaninglessness of Life - Jewellery Artists read Pär Lagerkvist’s Guest of Reality.

Between 1923 and 1924, the Swedish Nobel Prize awarded author, Pär Lagerkvist, lived nearby Château Grimaldi in the Haut de Cagnes. Here, he wrote the acclaimed novel Guest of Reality, published in 1925, almost one hundred years ago. The novel is considered one of the most important coming-of-age stories in Swedish literature and contains autobiographical elements.
The story follows a boy growing up in a small Swedish railway town in the early twentieth century, where his father works as a station porter. During the day he plays with his siblings and watches the trains rush past. The scents of nature and a close relationship with his family bring joy and hope, yet the fear that everything might be lost fills him with dread.
The novel revolves around the existential vulnerability of human life. The boy is constantly troubled by religious doubts, anxiety, and a paralyzing fear of death, his own and that of those close to him. In his search for meaning, he comes to embrace doubt and the possibility that life itself may be without meaning.
The invited artists have read the novel and present their own free interpretations in this shared exhibition.

In conjunction with this exhibition, Rebecca Burkhalter will have a solo exhibition at Villa Ingeborg in Cagnes-sur-Mer that opens on the National Day of Sweden, 6th of June. This exhibition is curated by Mats Jansson / Nääs konsthantverk/Nääs castle and hosted by Rivieraklubben.