Arrow and Iris
Beauty is what we notice first. It is not what keeps us looking.
Arrow and Iris
A short stop-motion animation film, entirely hand made employing paper art. Every feather individually cut. Every flower, every leaf made slowly by hand.
The scene is poetic and grotesque in equal measure. A perfect sunrise above a lawn of blooming irises — a delicate balance of texture, color, and form. At the centre: a pheasant, motionless, its rib cage exposed, covered in pearls and jewels. A crimson arrow has struck the creature. But the arrow vanishes, and an iris grows in its place — lush, full of life.
Death and life. The arrow and the flower. The bird at the centre of it all — not by accident — it is the cause of the scene.
This is the never-ending dance of Eros and Thanatos. Where there is death, there is always life. The two are not opposites. They share the same scene.
On Beauty
From a very early age, I noticed two things about beauty.
First, we tend to seek it in the same places. Over time, familiar beauty offers familiar emotions, familiar comforts, familiar inspiration.
Second — beauty is always conditional. It has to tick many boxes: be tamed and conventional to be accepted or recognized. The major downside of this is a loss of variety — the diversity of things we are missing out on admiring.
When I started my journey with Macabre Gadgets, it was a perfect challenge to point out a different beauty — unnoticed and sometimes ignored. Unconventional, unsettling, provocative and absolutely dark. The beauty hidden beneath the surface.
And there is no better object than jewelry to express it.
— Romain Celestinne, Creative Director, Macabre Gadgets
The Layers Behind the Picture
Arrow and Iris was inspired by the paper theaters of the 19th century — a popular art form that emerged from the Rococo era, in which elaborate miniature stages were built from printed cardstock, with layered wings, exchangeable backdrops, and figures moved by hand. The same principle of theatrical layering: a world constructed from paper, depth created through layering, every element made before it could be filmed.
The Objects
Avis Aeterna — eternal bird in Latin. A handcrafted bird in bonded marble, bejewelled with a delicate sterling silver rib cage. Suspended on a 50cm gold plated or oxidised sterling silver chain.
A bird's claw in solid sterling silver. Scaled leg, three articulated toes, sharp curved claws. Suspended from a geometric silver triangle on a black waxed cotton cord.
The feather catches the eye. The claw tells the story.
The Collection
Arrow and Iris is part of the Birds collection — an exploration of the symbolic, anatomical, and mythological world of birds. Beauty with Talons.
Explore Birds: Beauty with Talons
