‘Medusa Comb’, 2021
Brooch/Sculpture
bronze, recycled 18ct yellow gold and natural diamonds
“This metamorphic artwork challenges definition. A mutating comb, a brooch – both a sculpture and a jewel. The teeth of the comb seem to be moving, swaying like the tendrils of an anemone under the sea. We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us, but we are nature. Medusa connects the human and the animal. She attracts yet disturbs the viewer – her hair a bed of writhing snakes. Though we may think of her as a monster, she was the only mortal out of her gorgon siblings. Her name literally means ‘Queen’. It was the act of violence, rape and scorn that changed her. Medusa has been a subject for artists throughout the centuries, including Canova, Caravaggio, Bernini, Rubens, Cellini and Yinka Shonobare. This brooch is my modern take on Medusa. To me, it is a story of a powerful woman wronged – a story that has been repeated over centuries. But it is also a story of transformation and power”. - Joy BC
MEDUSA (COMBS)
‘Medusa Comb’, 2021
Brooch/Sculpture
bronze, recycled 18ct yellow gold and natural diamonds
“This metamorphic artwork challenges definition. A mutating comb, a brooch – both a sculpture and a jewel. The teeth of the comb seem to be moving, swaying like the tendrils of an anemone under the sea. We often talk about nature as if it is something separate from us, but we are nature. Medusa connects the human and the animal. She attracts yet disturbs the viewer – her hair a bed of writhing snakes. Though we may think of her as a monster, she was the only mortal out of her gorgon siblings. Her name literally means ‘Queen’. It was the act of violence, rape and scorn that changed her. Medusa has been a subject for artists throughout the centuries, including Canova, Caravaggio, Bernini, Rubens, Cellini and Yinka Shonobare. This brooch is my modern take on Medusa. To me, it is a story of a powerful woman wronged – a story that has been repeated over centuries. But it is also a story of transformation and power”. - Joy BC
MEDUSA (COMBS)
