Fabergé: the Object

Peter Carl Fabergé (and Alfred Thielemann)

Box

circa 1929

(gilt metal, guilloché enamel and sapphire)

     This box is almost edible. It echoes the look of a vintage bonbon, one whose décor is both inviting and delicate (and of course authentically sweet) and whose colours and shape are simple and soft. The central panel of blue is like a sky whipped with wafts of wispy clouds, ideal for a few leisurely hours of kite-flying or of lying eagle-spread in the grass, guessing the forms of the lazy drifters up above. The pale rose-coloured panel on the right might remind one of bitter raspberry ice cream, of prune jam or of a loathed pair of aged pink socks that have thankfully misplaced themselves. Wet sand, cold milk or clean white bed sheets, creased and warm, may be evoked by the solid creamy panel on the left; within its gold confines the enamel is spread out like a generous helping of margarine on toast, the knife resting nearby on the edge of chipped old plate, spotted with crumbs and lovingly repainted over the generations. The gleam of this box is fine: it is as reflective as that of a shallow, clear puddle of water, similar to those found smattered throughout a meadow after a dense spring shower: crisp, still and scented with the uncanny freshness of a retreating winter. To some, this box may even transform itself into a weird carousel, its six vertical windows rotating slowly to the sound of a tune believed to have been forgotten, each opening and revealing in turn a niche fitted with a memory or thought spurred by something as slight as a colour, smell or sound - strained from all corners of the mind, whether polished or dusty.

Leavesden Film Studios: 'Harry Potter'

Leavesden Film Studios, Hertfordshire (London)

Harry Potter Film Prop

circa 2004

      This is a brilliant trompe-l’œil used in the third make of the Harry Potter Warner Bros. film series. It depicts one of the Leaky Cauldron’s corridors above the ground floor pub which, as one can see, shows a few of the doors that lead off into the separate lodges. Apart from the fact that this prop was crafted entirely by skilled hands from its start to finish, the additional fact that it is an illusion intended to fool the eye both on and off the screen adds to its marvel as a work of art.

     In true form, when one stands at the widest end of this prop (its height being around that of an average human), one’s perception wavers strangely between the sense of realism taking place peripherally throughout the museum (from jabbing tourists to hyper-energetic children bobbing up and down all over) to the sense of surrealism radiating from this falsely-receding hallway that sits in one’s direct view. The height of the wooden chair at the far end of the corridor is, in truth, less than a metre. The portion of red carpet on which the miniature chair stands is also tiny - its width being no more than half of that which stretches forwards and outwards along the panelled corridor. Even the stucco- and wood-beamed ceiling shrinks according to how much space is put between the viewer and the farthest end of the hallway. Everything from the tussled, crooked carpet; the walls which seem to groan and shift with some mysterious force; and the dramatic lighting peering out from the left-hand space that no one is meant to truly see - all of these careful details are what crown this creation as not only a prop featured in the filmed version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but also as an eternal attestation of the different kind of magic that can resonate and be inspired from J.K. Rowling’s wonderful story. And to think that this piece saw only a few seconds’ worth of camera time throughout the entire set of eight films...

Su Blackwell

Su Blackwell

Book Sculpture for ‘The Baron in the Trees’ (details)

circa 2011

     A skill and talent like that of this artist is undeniable, even when studying only a detail of one of her works. For this paper sculpture, Blackwell reveals fragments of Italo Calvino’s storyline based on how willing one is to simply stop and stare (which with this work is only too easy to do). Though some of the shapes created from the book’s pages are easily recognisable as, say, the ladder or the pair of socks, the artist’s work still requires a certain level of visual de-puzzling on behalf of its audience in order for its clearest voice to come through.

    Notice that the drying garments and beautifully-petalled umbrella, for example, are cut from white paper and placed in clear view amid the jumble of type-faced brambles and branches. These details, in relation to the work as a whole, are minuscule, but due to their stark blankness and clarity of form they stand out against the backdrop as sharply as if there were no paper forest or black background at all. Also consider the fact that much of Blackwell’s œuvre is in black and white. She sometimes dabbles with colour, sparingly spacing it throughout a piece like small 'notice' signs; and she has indeed made pieces, though rare, which are doused in a full bloom of colour. But much of her works’ success is arguably due to it being a sinuous but clear monochromatic depiction of things in their simplest states - as if these things were but tedious three-dimensional sketches that burst forth into a final position, showcasing a stripped version of themselves at their purest stage between inspiration and actual creation. 

     Whoever you are, this work of art has the effect of swallowing one up in a lovely way. It entices one to look harder and longer, perhaps to the point of wishing to be small and nimble enough to crawl along the lettered bark and settle down for a while, treating it like a new home - exactly as Calvino’s protagonist chooses to do.

Harriet Meserole

Harriet Meserole

Vogue Cover Design (French Edition)

circa 1921

     This is a lovely scene. Though its illustrative style may not be to everyone’s tastes, it nonetheless expresses to its viewers an open invitation made on behalf of the two ladies (and their dawdling dog) - it is one that implies, Why not stroll along with us? Rather than emphasising a cold shoulder, the figures’ turned backs actually place the viewer in the wake of warmth and liveliness. The women’s postures as well as their clothing give them a note of animation that visually contrasts with the barren, almost lifeless forest of pines surrounding them. The ornate red-and-gold ensemble of the lady on the right behaves like a firework releasing its vibrant energy against the expanse of whiteness which frames it. The second lady’s clothing, a rich billowing cape of (presumably) fur (topped with a sharp pop of geometric flowers), is different to, but just as stylish as, that of her companion. It, too, contrasts with its surroundings, but it does so in a subtler way. As this is a drawing meant to emulate the glory of fashion and its many nuances which are undoubtedly related to and drawn from nature itself, the white cape plays the role of ‘showing off’ what the human hand can create. Its whiteness and irregular shape almost brag to the whiteness against which it is set, putting into question, Which is more beautiful and real - you or I? It might be this that the ladies are so intent on discussing. Or, quite understandably, it could be that they have become too numb to talk, and now they are only focused on the important prospect of returning as quickly as possible to the warmth of the house just ahead.