Medusa, bijoux et tabous

The exhibition Medusa, Jewellery and Taboos takes an unprecedented contemporary perspective on jewellery, unveiling a number of taboos.

Just like the face of Medusa in Greek mythology, a piece of jewellery attracts and troubles the person who designs it, looks at it or wears it. Jewellery has an ambiguous status, mid-way between fashion and sculpture, and is rarely considered to be a work of art. Indeed, it is often perceived as too close to the body, too feminine, precious, ornamental or primitive. But it is thanks to avant-garde artists and contemporary designers that it has been reinvented, transformed and detached from its own traditions. The exhibition brings together over 400 pieces of jewellery created by artists, avant-garde jewellery makers and designers, contemporary jewellery makers and also high end jewelers, as well as anonymous, more ancient or non-Western pieces. These pieces, well-known, little-known, unique, familiar, handmade, massproduced, or computer made, mix some refined, hand-wrought, amateur and even futuristic aesthetics which are rarely associated together.