FELIEKE VAN DER LEEST : JEWELRASSIC PARK
May 18, 2019 – August 31, 2019
One of the biggest problems we have on this planet are environmental problems and global warming. The way people live is not very sustainable and we have to change that before it is too late. (Think Sustainable! ) The font type is inspired by the famous word “Hollywood”, situated close to where famous movies are being made. (Like Jurassic Park in 1993) The letters I made out of (legal) mammoth ivory, which is now widely available to buy because of the fast disappearance of the permafrost. Mammoths died out thousands of years ago, maybe because of global warming or they went extinct because of being hunted down by humans……or a combination of those two. The red necklace the dinosaur is wearing is a large exclamation mark. The letters stick to the dinosaur’s back because of little magnets inside.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is always depicted as a verocious meat eater. Rex is also the name of a famous German Shepherd police dog in the TV series “Inspector Rex”. When dogs are sick they sometimes need to wear these kind of plastic collars so they cannot harm themselves. The head is hinged to the ring an can move back and forth like when dogs are fighting over a bone.
In the past people never knew that the earth was inhabited for millions of years by dinosaurs. Because we have found bones we know they must have exsisted. And every day we learn more and more, but will we ever know everything? And what about aliens? They might have visited earth when the dinosaurs were around. Although we have not found their bones...yet. Maybe bones of aliens have been found but we think they are from dinosaurs. Are dinosaurs from the past aliens from the future?
These two (Duo) Diplodocus (Diplo) dinosaurs are identical (Duplicated) Their heads are in a comic speech balloon in the shape of a heart. Are they in love and say nice things to each other ? They stand on a sort of arena (inspired by a kind of dart board) where they are boxing .... they are hugging each other. The boxing gloves are also heart shaped. Is this love ? Is this anger ? Is this loveanger?
Cupido + Caudipteryx. Cupid is an ancient Roman god of love often presented as a winged, naked, infant boy with bow and arrows. He shoots his arrow at people’s heart so they will fall in love. Cupidopteryx however shot the arrow through his own head.
Attenborosaurus + Drone. The attenborosaurus is officially not a dinosaur but a member of the swimming reptile family: the plesiosaur. The attenborosaurus is named after the famous british documentary maker Sir David Attenborough. I made a combination between this animal, which swims in the water and a drone, that flies in the air. The drone propellors have the shape of screw propellor of a ship. The blue bullet shaped gem stones are of topaz.
The hatzegopteryx is officially not a dinosaur but a member of the flying reptile family: the pterosaur. It is chained to a train of winged carts on which his/her eggs are lying. The eggs are half pink and half blue; is it a boy ? Is it a girl ? This hatzegopteryx has also different colored eyes: one is pink and the other is blue.
Lunatic + Velociraptor + Ballerina. The velociraptor is wearing a combination of a ballet tutu and a straight jacket. As a ballerina (Velociraptorina) she is restrained in her movements to dance. Is her laugh real ? Maybe she is a happy lunatic (Lunatitia) thinking she a dancing ice cream.
Pachycephalosaurus + Ball. The pachycephalosaurus is a dinosaur famous for having a large, bony dome atop its skull, like a helmet. It could be that is was used by the males to fight eachother. When I bought this toy I stuck my finger between its legs so it was a ring. I wanted to change its underground and replaced it by a ball. The ball is crocheted with 24kt goldplated seadbeads. When wearing it as a ring the ball feels very pleasant in the hand.
The therizinosaurus is relateted to the tyrannosaur family but the only one eating plants. It is standing on a carpet of water, that is embroidered with blue beads in circular water ripples. In this work I also played with the speech balloon used in comics. I combined that with a halo (religious saints have that around their heads) and the helmet an astronaut is wearing so it is able to breathe in space. Is Therizini Blub Blub preaching in air bubbles or are the small bubbles coming from the mouth his last breath before drowning?
People who know about the history of contemporary jewellery will recognize the two necklaces the dinosaurs are wearing, therefor “An Inside Story”. The dilophosauris on the left side is wearing the necklace “Dew Drop” made by Gijs Bakker in 1982. The oviraptor on the right is wearing a collar by Emmy van Leersum in 1968. This necklace can be seen as a tribute to these two Dutch pioneers of contemporary jewellery. Both are made in the original materials, the miniatur aluminium collar by rapid prototyping.
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest where woman are judged by their outside beauty. On the contrary: In some countries woman wear special dresses called “burqa” which doesn’t show the female body at all. I played with these contrasts in this work. The giganotosaurus has a mounth full of sharp and dangerous teeth but they are hidden by a beaded veil. I painted the dinosaur silver to give it a more spacy look. (the color of the stars in the universe) She also wears an engagement ring with an excessively large “daimant”, which is a caricature on the rings films stars show the public when they are getting married.
One of the best know dinosaurs is the Triceratops, known for his large bony frill and his three horns. The frill was first thought to be defensive weapons against predators, but sientist now think they were used for identification, courtship and to display dominance. Togerther with most dinosaurs it died out 66 million years ago, probably because a large meteor hit the earth. My Tricereyedtops also has three eyes, the third one prominently placed on the middle of his frill. With a “Third Eye” it is said men can see the future. The pendant the dinosaur is wearing contains a little piece of an iron meteorite found in Argentina called “Campo Del Cielo”.
I love hard rock and heavy metal music, when I was younger I played bass guitar in a gothic metal band. One of the pieces I made when I graduated from the art academy in 1996 was the pin “Spermheart”. In this work the ornithocheirus (a kind of pterosaur) is playing a metal spermheart guitar.
Religious extremists rule the news with their terrorist attacks, but there are also other types of extremism. This Daspletosaurus is practicing extreme yoga: with his tiny arms lifting up his big head.
- IMAGES:
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One of the biggest problems we have on this planet are environmental problems and global warming. The way people live is not very sustainable and we have to change that before it is too late. (Think Sustainable! ) The font type is inspired by the famous word “Hollywood”, situated close to where famous movies are being made. (Like Jurassic Park in 1993) The letters I made out of (legal) mammoth ivory, which is now widely available to buy because of the fast disappearance of the permafrost. Mammoths died out thousands of years ago, maybe because of global warming or they went extinct because of being hunted down by humans……or a combination of those two. The red necklace the dinosaur is wearing is a large exclamation mark. The letters stick to the dinosaur’s back because of little magnets inside.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex is always depicted as a verocious meat eater. Rex is also the name of a famous German Shepherd police dog in the TV series “Inspector Rex”. When dogs are sick they sometimes need to wear these kind of plastic collars so they cannot harm themselves. The head is hinged to the ring an can move back and forth like when dogs are fighting over a bone.
![2016 Rex Ring - 1.jpeg]( "2016 Rex Ring - 1.jpeg")
![2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs 1.jpeg]( "2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs 1.jpeg")
In the past people never knew that the earth was inhabited for millions of years by dinosaurs. Because we have found bones we know they must have exsisted. And every day we learn more and more, but will we ever know everything? And what about aliens? They might have visited earth when the dinosaurs were around. Although we have not found their bones...yet. Maybe bones of aliens have been found but we think they are from dinosaurs. Are dinosaurs from the past aliens from the future?
![2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs 2.jpeg]( "2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs 2.jpeg")
![2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs - brooch.jpeg]( "2016 Brachiosaurus Tree with UFO Nest and Alien Eggs - brooch.jpeg")
![2016 Duo Dupli Diplo - object.jpeg]( "2016 Duo Dupli Diplo - object.jpeg")
![2016 Duo Dupli Diplo - earrings.jpeg]( "2016 Duo Dupli Diplo - earrings.jpeg")
These two (Duo) Diplodocus (Diplo) dinosaurs are identical (Duplicated) Their heads are in a comic speech balloon in the shape of a heart. Are they in love and say nice things to each other ? They stand on a sort of arena (inspired by a kind of dart board) where they are boxing .... they are hugging each other. The boxing gloves are also heart shaped. Is this love ? Is this anger ? Is this loveanger?
![2016 Cupidopteryx.jpeg]( "2016 Cupidopteryx.jpeg")
Cupido + Caudipteryx. Cupid is an ancient Roman god of love often presented as a winged, naked, infant boy with bow and arrows. He shoots his arrow at people’s heart so they will fall in love. Cupidopteryx however shot the arrow through his own head.
![2016 Attendronosaurus - object.jpeg]( "2016 Attendronosaurus - object.jpeg")
Attenborosaurus + Drone. The attenborosaurus is officially not a dinosaur but a member of the swimming reptile family: the plesiosaur. The attenborosaurus is named after the famous british documentary maker Sir David Attenborough. I made a combination between this animal, which swims in the water and a drone, that flies in the air. The drone propellors have the shape of screw propellor of a ship. The blue bullet shaped gem stones are of topaz.
![2016 Attendronosaurus - brooch.jpeg]( "2016 Attendronosaurus - brooch.jpeg")
![2016 Hatze Gopteryx and the Mystery Eggs - object.jpeg]( "2016 Hatze Gopteryx and the Mystery Eggs - object.jpeg")
The hatzegopteryx is officially not a dinosaur but a member of the flying reptile family: the pterosaur. It is chained to a train of winged carts on which his/her eggs are lying. The eggs are half pink and half blue; is it a boy ? Is it a girl ? This hatzegopteryx has also different colored eyes: one is pink and the other is blue.
![2016 Hatze Gopteryx and the Mystery Eggs - bracelet.jpeg]( "2016 Hatze Gopteryx and the Mystery Eggs - bracelet.jpeg")
![2016 Lunatitia Velociraptorina.jpeg]( "2016 Lunatitia Velociraptorina.jpeg")
Lunatic + Velociraptor + Ballerina. The velociraptor is wearing a combination of a ballet tutu and a straight jacket. As a ballerina (Velociraptorina) she is restrained in her movements to dance. Is her laugh real ? Maybe she is a happy lunatic (Lunatitia) thinking she a dancing ice cream.
![2016 Pachyceballosaurus - object.jpeg]( "2016 Pachyceballosaurus - object.jpeg")
Pachycephalosaurus + Ball. The pachycephalosaurus is a dinosaur famous for having a large, bony dome atop its skull, like a helmet. It could be that is was used by the males to fight eachother. When I bought this toy I stuck my finger between its legs so it was a ring. I wanted to change its underground and replaced it by a ball. The ball is crocheted with 24kt goldplated seadbeads. When wearing it as a ring the ball feels very pleasant in the hand.
![2016 Pachyceballosaurus - ring.jpeg]( "2016 Pachyceballosaurus - ring.jpeg")
![2016 Therizini Blub Blub - object.jpeg]( "2016 Therizini Blub Blub - object.jpeg")
The therizinosaurus is relateted to the tyrannosaur family but the only one eating plants. It is standing on a carpet of water, that is embroidered with blue beads in circular water ripples. In this work I also played with the speech balloon used in comics. I combined that with a halo (religious saints have that around their heads) and the helmet an astronaut is wearing so it is able to breathe in space. Is Therizini Blub Blub preaching in air bubbles or are the small bubbles coming from the mouth his last breath before drowning?
![2016 Therizini Blub Blub - necklace.jpeg]( "2016 Therizini Blub Blub - necklace.jpeg")
![2017 Jewelrassic-An Inside Story 2.jpeg]( "2017 Jewelrassic-An Inside Story 2.jpeg")
People who know about the history of contemporary jewellery will recognize the two necklaces the dinosaurs are wearing, therefor “An Inside Story”. The dilophosauris on the left side is wearing the necklace “Dew Drop” made by Gijs Bakker in 1982. The oviraptor on the right is wearing a collar by Emmy van Leersum in 1968. This necklace can be seen as a tribute to these two Dutch pioneers of contemporary jewellery. Both are made in the original materials, the miniatur aluminium collar by rapid prototyping.
![2017 Miss Universe 1.jpeg]( "2017 Miss Universe 1.jpeg")
Miss Universe is an annual international beauty contest where woman are judged by their outside beauty. On the contrary: In some countries woman wear special dresses called “burqa” which doesn’t show the female body at all. I played with these contrasts in this work. The giganotosaurus has a mounth full of sharp and dangerous teeth but they are hidden by a beaded veil. I painted the dinosaur silver to give it a more spacy look. (the color of the stars in the universe) She also wears an engagement ring with an excessively large “daimant”, which is a caricature on the rings films stars show the public when they are getting married.
![2017 Miss Universe 2.jpeg]( "2017 Miss Universe 2.jpeg")
![2017 Tricereyedtops 1.jpeg]( "2017 Tricereyedtops 1.jpeg")
One of the best know dinosaurs is the Triceratops, known for his large bony frill and his three horns. The frill was first thought to be defensive weapons against predators, but sientist now think they were used for identification, courtship and to display dominance. Togerther with most dinosaurs it died out 66 million years ago, probably because a large meteor hit the earth. My Tricereyedtops also has three eyes, the third one prominently placed on the middle of his frill. With a “Third Eye” it is said men can see the future. The pendant the dinosaur is wearing contains a little piece of an iron meteorite found in Argentina called “Campo Del Cielo”.
![2017 Spermheart Rocker.jpeg]( "2017 Spermheart Rocker.jpeg")
I love hard rock and heavy metal music, when I was younger I played bass guitar in a gothic metal band. One of the pieces I made when I graduated from the art academy in 1996 was the pin “Spermheart”. In this work the ornithocheirus (a kind of pterosaur) is playing a metal spermheart guitar.
![2017 Yoga Extremist.jpeg]( "2017 Yoga Extremist.jpeg")
Religious extremists rule the news with their terrorist attacks, but there are also other types of extremism. This Daspletosaurus is practicing extreme yoga: with his tiny arms lifting up his big head.
“When I am working with color, I feel like a painter,
When I am Working with metal, I feel like a constructor,
And when I am working with toys, I feel like a child”.
Recently returning from China and getting ready for its United States debut at Mobilia Gallery, each Dino sculpture is wearable or has a wearable element.
Felieke van der Leest’s exhibition “Jewelrassic Park” has received support from Norwegian Crafts and the Norwegian MFA’s support programme for freight and travel.
