Scale 1 - Mask for Neil Spiller

This is an illustration of my initial piece of 'poor-man's' jewellery, which was inspired by the facade of the Cork Gallery by Erich van Egeraat (see early blog posts). It became the starting point for my Jewellery for Neil Spiller, which became a mask.

I decided on a mask because of all the issues I had been reading about during my studies on Gothic literature. The feminine identity was heavily questioned during this period, with women dealing with issues of domesticity and control in a patriarchal society; freedom of expression through their writing; and the garment industry's consumer product the corset.

Since Spiller's architectural illustrations are beautiful but ambiguous, and serve to supplement his poetry and prose in the margins, it seemed to me that he was highly interested in the aesthetic function of the architectural drawing and less so the technical aspect. Much of his work remains unbuilt.

This superficial treatment of his subject matter, coupled with his references to characters such as Dorian Gray (with his issues of identity and his troubled psyche) all pointed in the direction of a mask.