Spakenburg by Willemijn de Greef

Necklace / Floral

Published: 03.11.2010

Sailors & landlubbers
My work is based on the cultural history of the Netherlands, mainly on traditions, crafts, and traditional costumes. I take recognizable elements and subsequently translate them to my own contemporary context. I enlarge the components which are important to me so they become autonomous. I translate the jewellery worn in traditional costumes as well as elements out of the costumes. Next to that I also use more universal images from our cultural history, for example, the handmade rope and brick red ceramics. For the competition “True colours” I used the “Zeeuwse knoop” as a starting point. The necklace “Zeeuwse knopen” refers to the landscape of Zeeland. The beauty of the deep black/ brown colours of the fatty Dutch clay when it’s ploughed. I grew up in this scenery. The Zeeuwse knoop is worn in different ways in the traditional costumes from the south of the Netherlands, Zeeland (Sealand). Such as neckpieces, buttons, and hairpins.