Exquisite Corpse

Delve into the realms of surrealism with Nelson-based jewellers Kay van Dyk, Joel Fitzwell, and Katie Pascoe.

Exquisite Corpse takes its inspiration from the surrealist game of the same name, where multiple artists collaboratively assemble a work of art, each contributing to its evolution without knowing what the others have made. Driven by a shared passion for pushing boundaries, Van Dyk, Fitzwell, and Pascoe (operating as collaborative contemporary jewellery collective Project 21) embarked on a three-year journey to collaborate and create unique, thought-provoking art jewellery that challenges the status quo, defies expectations, and invites viewers to reimagine the possibilities of wearable art and the perception of jewellery.

This collaging of different and distinctive artistic styles, textures, and media into a single object creates a unique visual collaboration between the three artists and forms a series of playfully peculiar pieces of jewellery. The 21 pieces feature a rich and intriguing range of materials from the conventional to the ridiculous – silver, sequins, wood, glass vials, semiprecious stones, cat fur, and found objects are but some of the vast array of materials that comprise the work.

Exquisite Corpse has been intermittently exhibited throughout Aotearoa since the beginning of 2021 during Nelson Jewellery Week. The exhibition comes to the Dowse from Ashburton Art Gallery which was the first time the captivating series of necklaces was shown in full.