Homo Sacer I by Emilie Le Dez

Necklace / Conceptual

Published: 21.10.2019

Emilie Le Dez

Necklace
Homo Sacer I
2019
Brass, wood, acrylic, paint, plastic.

From series:: Homo Sacer

Art Collector´s Award at Art Jewelry Night Budapest 2019.

Concept: Homo sacer (= sacred man) is a status created by ancient Roman law. It defines a person that has been excluded by society, who can be killed by anyone. A person that no longer has any civil rights. The Italian philosopher Agamben defines ´homo sacer´ an individual who is considered an exile from a legal point of view. But for him, there are two perspectives to human life: a biological life (Zoë or naked life) and a political dimension/existence of life (Bios). According to him, ´Homo sacer´ defines a clear and total separation between the two concepts. It means a person that is subject to a special political system, that doesn’t apply or works with human rights. That person doesn’t have its own political existence: everything can happen to him, he is no longer protected by rules or rights. I’m drawing here a parallel between the ´homo sacer´ and the refugee status. I’m trying to describe that moment where a person, who is considered a citizen somewhere (Zôe+Bios) is leaving his common legal framework, not necessarily by choice and has to live a ´vagabond life´ until the political system decides otherwise. My jewelry represents those ´homo sacer´ / refugees and recreates this random movement created by the political system. (The people are moving inside the jewel) The geometrical forms represent the political systems in which we live. This describes the situation of a growing number of humans beings. Totalitarian and criminal systems have used the status of the ´homo sacer´ to exclude and control society. What can we say about the actual world's situation?

Emilie Le Dez

Necklace
Homo Sacer I
2019
Brass, wood, acrylic, paint, plastic.