Poutama and Pūkana #2 by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna. A Future Classic in Contemporary Jewellery

Peter Deckers responds to Klimt02’s invitation to professionals by sharing his Future Classics choice. Rather than defining fixed criteria, this initiative gathers subjective perspectives to explore the values shaping the field and to open a conversation on durability, relevance, and how certain works continue to resonate over time.


Why I Chose These Two Works by Keri-Mei Zagrobelna as New Classics?
Keri-Mei Zagrobelna’s work carries the rare quality that allows an object to move beyond its moment and enter the realm of the classic.

Keri-Mei pieces are not simply adornments; they are vessels of ancestry, memory, and presence. They speak in a language older than the materials themselves, yet they remain unmistakably contemporary.

The early brooch I have chosen already shows this capacity. Cast in bronze, it brings together the lip and chin—forms that echo ancient sculptural traditions from many cultures—with a stitched Poutama pattern rendered in red yarn. Traditionally placed on either side of the chin, Poutama refers to the interwoven lines of descent from both mother and father. In Māori culture, the chin is also the site of moko kauae, the tattoo worn by women to honour their whakapapa, identity, and responsibilities.

Moko kauae is not fashion. It is a declaration of mana, a recognition of standing, and a commitment carried on the body. For many Māori women, the decision of when to take on moko kauae—and what form it should take—is a profound internal negotiation. It is a loop shaped by ancestry, community, responsibility, and self-understanding. Keri-Mei herself does not wear moko kauae, yet the brooch might be a step in that wider conversation—a way of holding lineage through material and form, allowing identity to surface in its own time.

Her work does not imitate tradition; it activates it. It invites the viewer to step out of a Western forward-facing gaze and instead recognise a worldview that moves by looking back—carrying ancestry forward rather than leaving it behind.

As an immigrant and Pākehā (a New Zealander of European descent), I’m aware of how differently Western culture relates to its past—often through reinvention, denial, or rupture. Māori culture moves differently. It treats ancestry as a living force, carried through mana (presence, integrity, authority) and expressed through materials that hold their own histories. 
This becomes even more evident in Keri-Mei’s later work, where she brings together kauri (an ancient, resin-rich timber) and pounamu (a treasured form of jade). These materials are not symbolic; they are alive with story, time, and connection.


Keri-Mei Zagrobelna. Necklace: Pūkana #2, 2025. Swamp Kauri, Puriri wood, sterling silver, cattle bone, waxed cord.



The second piece, Pūkana #2, more recent one, shows the maturity of this approach. Made for Flaming Star, an exhibition at The Dowse (Wellington, NZ) that challenged the cowboy myth through Indigenous, queer, and feminist lenses, this work brings together lips carved from kauri, two weights carved from pūriri, and a tongue shaped from cattle bone—a material introduced through colonisation and now standing in for the whalebone traditionally used in Māori carving. Through these materials, and through her reworking of bolotie and badge forms, Keri-Mei turns the colonial gaze back on itself, speaking to the violence that shaped Māori experience and history.

Her practice now moves confidently between jewellery, sculpture, and public art, yet the core remains the same: a commitment to presence, care, and the stories that travel through the body. What was present in the student work as potential has become fully realised—a language of form that bridges worlds without collapsing their differences.

These two works, placed together, reveal the arc of an artist who has always understood that adornment can carry more than decoration. They show how a classic is formed—not by age, but by depth, resonance, and the ability to speak across time and culture. Keri-Mei’s pieces do exactly that. They are not only significant within contemporary jewellery; they are touchstones for how cultural knowledge can be honoured, transformed, and carried forward.

They earn their place as new classics because they continue to reveal more each time we return to them. They hold a reserve of meaning that does not exhaust itself. They bridge worlds without collapsing differences. And they remind us that the most enduring works are those that stay alive—shifting, resonating, and meeting us again as we change.


Why Future Classics?
What Makes a Contemporary Jewellery Piece Become a Classic? Our aim is not to define academic criteria or impose any form of conservatism, but to collect subjective perspectives that help us understand the values and expectations shaping our field, without reducing them to fixed rules or hierarchies. By sharing these voices, we invite you to think together and open a conversation about durability, relevance, and the ways particular works contain certain patterns or enigmas that make them continue to speak over time.
 

About the author

Born in the Netherlands, Peter Deckers immigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand in 1985, bringing with him a deep curiosity about jewellery as an art form. His practice is driven by an ongoing interrogation of material, meaning, and value, exploring the intersections of science, politics, economics, and human experience. Through experimentation and intuitive making, he challenges conventions and uncovers new possibilities within contemporary jewellery. Peter trained at MTS Vakschool Schoonhoven, pursued further studies at the Rotterdam Fine Arts Academy, and completed his master’s degree at Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland. Rooted in discovery, poetry, and mystery, his work embraces a Renaissance approach to both making and thinking, navigating the complexities of a shifting society. Alongside his independent practice, Peter actively fosters knowledge‑sharing and sector development. He founded MAKERS 101 (M101) as a platform for creative exchange and has been instrumental in collaborative initiatives such as the Handshake Project,  Aotearoa Jewellery Triennial, UPSKILL programmes, masterclasses, and national and international exhibitions that strengthen contemporary jewellery in New Zealand. A committed educator and mentor, Peter has invested deeply in arts education and professional development.

https://aotearoajewellery.org.nz/peter-deckers-bio/