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Brooch
Simon Costin, born 1962 - Enlarge image
Brooch
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1988 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Simon Costin, born 1962 (designed and made by)
- Credit Line:
Commissioned by the V&A
- Museum number:
M.61-1988
- Gallery location:
Jewellery, room 91, case 39, shelf A, box 2
Simon Costin, a taxidermist and artist, incorporated fish skin, animal skulls and even human fluids in his jewellery, enjoying `'the tension between people's reaction to the potential beauty of a piece and then their frequent revulsion at discovering that in fact the piece was "real"'. The fish head used in this brooch is real, its natural shimmering beauty enhanced with gold leaf and preserved beneath varnish.
Simon Costin has degrees in film making, theatre design and history of art. He began making jewellery when working on costume designs for a film about Caravaggio. He later became art director for Steve McQueen's catwalk shows for Givenchy. He also collaborated with the fashion designers Roberto Cavalli and Antonio Berardi.
In the afterword of the publication 'Unclasped' he wrote: "The last object that I made that could loosely be called 'jewellery' was a necklace comprising of a band of sprung steel overlaid with a large motor attached. Once on, it took ten minutes to constrict and crush the wearer. This was, I suppose my farewell to jewellery".
