Daniela Cardillo

Says Ails McGee of Daniela Cardillo, "Primarily, this is beautiful stuff. It's shockingly well crafted, and very desirable. Secondly, there's the concept. This is jewellery formed out of electroformed components of dead animals. Skulls, bones, claws - who'd have thought this stuff could be so exquisite? I liked how I came away from her show confused, readdressing a few opinions. Obviously this is going to get a few people rattled. How about a necklace for Christmas, made entirely out of horsehair and rodent bones? Ultimately, this is perfect for us. When was the last time a necklace provoked a debate?" Says Daniela, "I am concerned with finding beauty in and making use of death and discard. I'm intrigued by the components that make up a creature. When an animal dies, these parts loose their sense of function, and can then be studied and appreciated for their true aesthetics. Taxidermy, hunting trophies and the concept of the animal as a status and power symbol, is also at the root of my work. If bones, skulls, claws, and hair are considered memento-mori, the pieces are not a simple reminder of death, but an alteration of it, vitalizing past life fragments. Each piece of jewellery is individually hand crafted, using traditional Victorian hair weaving techniques. The bones are electroformed and then goldplated, encasing individual relics of past lives. The collection is entirely made from rodent bones and horsehair, creating beauty and revitalizing death tokens that often hold an unappealing stigma."