Stones Against Diamonds, Diamonds Against Stones

2018

MDF, glass, mirror, acrylic glass, fluorescent lights, pigment prints, iPhone, rocks; dimensions variable

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Photo: Marge Monko

Design and construction of the vitrine: Kaisa Sööt

The installation consists of a vitrine that contains different elements: an iPhone, rocks, and photographs. The advertisement photos depict a female hand holding up a diamond and a birth control pill respectively. The gneiss rocks picked from the Tallinn seaside support a photograph of Greek prehistoric fertility statues and an iPhone displaying a birth control reminder app. The design of the vitrine is derived from the shape of a diamond. The title of the work is inspired by Lina Bo Bardi’s essay Stones Against Diamonds, from 1947, in which the architect and designer writes about her preference for semi-precious stones over gold, pearls, and diamonds. The installation seeks to reflect upon the battle of values in the global marketplace: luxurious lifestyle versus equal opportunities, individualism versus collectivism, (female) independence versus motherhood, etc.