Paula Isola, Words I, II, III, 2018, brooches, porcelain, leaves of the book The Lover by Marguerite Duras, sterling silver, nickel silver, photo by: Juan Giménez Zapiola
Our April laurel goes to Argentinean jeweller, Paula Isola, for three brooches that weave a text of desire.
Paula Isola writes about her work:
Who owns the words?
They were there before we were born and they will be here when we pass away. Nevertheless, they are ours: our creation, our ongoing construction. Old, new, daily, hidden, floating nearby. The world is being persistently redefined, reinvented with words.
I have always been attracted by words. I underline, cut, write, copy, glue them. Everything that is written and said around me leaves its print on my work. For these pieces, I have used the pages of a book that I love: Marguerite Duras’ Lover. The pages are broken apart, the texts get mixed with one another so that new readings arise.
Open windows. The workspace. Paper and pencil. A cup of coffee.
During the day, life gives me material to think about, strings that can be pulled up later. A piece of paper and a cup of coffee are enough company. A blank page is an infinite space. That’s where my work begins.
I live in San Isidro, a residential neighbourhood close to the City of Buenos Aires and near Rio de la Plata (River Plate), our sweet brown sea. San Isidro has cobblestones in most of the streets and old trees. In front of my house we have Rolo’s, a friendly store where neighbours gather to have a chat. On Friday night there is food, beer and more talking. It is a neighbourhood full of life, something that perhaps has already been lost in the big city.
From the window of my workshop, I see my little garden: a walnut tree, the orchard that I haven’t finished yet, the sun between the leaves. A bubble of calm in a country with many inequalities and pending issues. It is from here that I try to name, through jewelry, something of everything that is happening around me.
Visit paulaisola.com.ar and follow @paulaisolajoyas
