So Much More Than the Performance by Robin Driessen

Ring / OnBody NewTalentsByKlimt02

A majority of the population can appreciate the beauty of classical ballet. Linked with this beauty, there is a dark side to this elegant dance style. "So much more than the performance" is a jewellery collection that refers to this unknown part of the classical ballet. The physical pain of ballerinas and their eating disorders are central to my research. Attractiveness and ugliness are paradoxical but go together. I tried to find visual elements that are critical to both the success of ballerinas and to discomfort. My jewellery pieces are fleshy and distorted objects that form an addition to the body, each with an elegant touch. In my work, I use tights and sugar. Sweets and calories are prohibited for ballerinas, and panties are like a second skin. By adding pearls and gems in my work I want to show the beauty of the ballet in the colour shades of blood. This classic form of beauty demands all the attention, just like the performance.