Brother | Broche 2008 | zilver, ijzer, hout | 5 x 11,6 x 2,3 cm
MIAMI BLUE REVISITED
Deep down we all cherish the memories of early childhood when life still seemed uncomplicated.
Everyone was kind and the sun was always shining.
Illusions like these, however, will not stand the
test of time. Not only do we grow older and wiser, but we also become indigent. Inevitably the sense
of security from our childhood slips through our fingers. This feeling is not normally attached to
one place or one object, very rarely a car.
For Francis Willemstijn her care free childhood was embodied in a car. It was a place where she could
retreat into a world of her own, a little girl in a spacious Ford Granada Coupe. Its interior soft, warm
and full of secret nooks and crannies; a safe place defined by pleather and metal, rubber and petrol.
It was also the capsule in which she and her family travelled to explore cities and the countryside,
accompanied by the music of The Shadows.
It is difficult to establish the exact moment you say farewell
to your early naivety, there rarely is a specific occasion. Until the moment the car is taken to the junk yard.
That is when the safe haven is gone and real life kicks in.
How does a jewel designer integrate a Ford Granada Coupe as a motif for her designs? The difference in
scale between jewelry and cars makes for an unlikely symbiosis. In art the use of quotations and references
is a well known phenomena, it is unusual, however, to integrate the authentic material into the artistic expression.
On different levels Willemstijn is doing just that with this new series of jewels: the steel she uses originates from cars.
Miami Blue is the original colour of the lacquer and in many objects original parts have been applied.
Letters have been separated from their context, door handles or light fixtures, once wondrously explored by a child’s
little fingers, now still function by association. Thereby she brings a new and universal aura to the everyday idiom of vintage cars.
Besides this literal level Willemstijn developed a metaphor with cutting lines and variations on the Ford logo. From the fluid
letters of the image a seemingly abstract, lyrical calligraphy was created. A sharp contrast with the straight patterns that
are associated with the moving perspective of the landscape, marks on the road flashing by and repetitive rhythms
(the curious little girl looking through the car window at the unknown world flashing by). The letters as well as the
lines inescapably suggest movement and speed.
Earlier work by Francis Willemstijn was related to her past as well: The necklaces, brooches and objects from the Jerephaes
collection were based upon fantasies about her ancestors from the early seventeenth century. The heritage pieces referred
to ancient traditions and techniques and the handicrafts from her home in the Zaan area. The Miami Blue revisited
collection does away with the filtering through time altogether, so that the content suddenly cuts close to the bone.
When Willemstijns’ youth is left, irretrievably, behind at the junk yard, she re-charges the vehicle of her memories
with meaning. The magic reasserts itself. The gloss returns.
Lovingly, and meticulously, she regains her youth, captures
it from the clutches of time, and gives it a new status in jewelry that, in its turn, can be cherished over time.
Ward Schrijver
