SOVIET FACET TINY TALISMAN

‘Vincent’ is a tale about a darkly suave, dangerously sophisticated Russian gangster – ruling London’s underworld with his enigmatic, fiery power. Vincent is an oligarch of the underground, the indisputable ruler of his own dark kingdom. 

The inspirations for this collection, and the narrative that drives it, spanned across monumental Soviet Modernist architecture, Russian communist propaganda graphics and the story of the Romanov’s – the last Tsar’s of Russia. I was also referencing post-modern Russian artists, Malevich in particular, amongst others. David Cronenburg films (particularly ‘Eastern Promises’ and ‘A History of Violence’) and the work of the incredible film-maker Tarkovsky also had an important input.

The ‘facet’ motif appears throughout the collection, in many guises. Here in this pendant it is covered with radiating graphic lines – a nod to the melting pot of the architectural and graphic inspirations above. I wanted to represent the brutalist lines, and clean graphic forms – they have incredible understated power.

Part of this collection for me was about looking at the meaning of symbolism in jewellery. So often jewellery can be used as a symbol of heritage, of membership, of something that has been achieved, or agreed. The idea that pieces can have hidden meanings – known only to the wearer and their associates was enthralling for me. From the ever-intriguing Masonic brotherhood to Pauline Reage’s ‘The Story Of O’ there are countless instances of this kind of imbued meaning. 

I like to imagine this little talisman takes on some of that power – what the meaning is, of course, is entirely up to you.