The köttberg of Marais

As I walk the streets of Marais, I hear five different languages (including mine) and see people in outfits that are more compatible to be seen taking the metro rather than walking (exclusive to me). Close to Square du Temple, the jewel designer Marguerite Bones works in a shared atelier. From the vis à vis has she slowly got to know who lives in the building across from her while taking her cigarette breaks.

M: I found this atelier through a paper ad. It used to be an old Chinese atelier, they received readymade pieces from China that they put together here. So you can always find fake diamonds and other things they used if you lift up the stones on the floor.

In 2016, Bones found herself in Amsterdam to continue her bachelor in graphic design, but after a week she quit to start the basic year in order to specialize with a bachelor's in the jewelry department. It was possible her nature as an Aries, the “head on approach” of the horn, drove her desire to dive into a new challenge.

M: I needed to do something else, and the school in Amsterdam was very liberating for me. It was so different from the French system. I knew I had an interest in the body so the jewelry department which is called Jewelry linking body intrigued me. But I had no clue I liked small stuff. In my first year I only did performance art haha.

Her first jewelry collection emerged from an experiment of not eating meat for a couple of months. It might sound trivial but for Bones, who wanted to become a butcher as a kid, it was an experience that made her reflect on the quality and the aesthetic aspects of meat. Her love for eating meat conflicted with the violence in the meat production industry, not to mention coming to terms with the concept of eating another living creature.

M: Meat interested me a lot but in the beginning I only did big 3D sculptures in silicon that kind of resembled flesh that people would tear apart. I liked the connection between the skin and the metal. But then I realized that instead of making big sculptures I could just hang them on people's ears and have them walk around with them.

The different creations by Bones can be found in Vogue Netherland, on artists like Naomi Sharon or in the shop in Amsterdam run by the collective The Pool. The artists styled with Bones’ jewelry are impressive photoshoots often with a y2k gaze and a futuristic style that feels right in time.

M: I get really proud when I see others wearing my jewelry. For me, it’s a language that is not spoken. It's a connection through shape or an attraction for the same things. That’s also why I started doing different stuff. Some pieces are easy for people to connect with while others are peculiar and more difficult.

And how does it feel to let go of them?

This is why I decided to work in series. I have one piece that I only did one of and I sold it. And I still miss it today. The fact that I know I can reproduce them makes me feel better.

The presence of the body and the flesh is reflected early in Bones’ work. Her performance in 2017, Transparent Skin, the audience is facing a glass cube with a small fire in front of it. Four people in nightgowns, their bodies pressed against the glass, touching each other, touching the skin-like quadrats hanging from the ceiling and throwing themselves against the mattress. The same feeling is found in her examen project which contains of garments in mixed material. The use of leather and silver makes her pieces feel meaty and cold but still inviting.

M: To be able to feel your body is very intriguing, to feel hunger, anger, desire. How can this material hold so many things? How can it be alive? For me, jewelry is a tool to dig into the flesh and find out where they come from.

Bones’ creations have an agenda to heal and protect the wearer. Her corset is built almost like armor. Comfortable with its elastic band to not be restrained to the heroin chic ideal, but also decorated with spikes that prevent you from crossing your arm across your chest. For her, it was a way to work with her insecurities and materialize the abstract feeling of anxiety. The arrow, one of Bones' signum, is sprung from this experience of vulnerability.

M: Creating is a way for me to get a hold of my anxiety. Emotions can be so heavy and take a lot of room but they can also give a lot. The arrow is a clear symbol of this. The thorn of an arrow isn't something you want around your neck or wrist, because it can hurt you. At the same time, it's so fragile, if you take it from the side you can just break it. I like this paradox.

One can imagine that Bones found some of her inspiration in the 15th century for her early work. The corset takes the price, but also her use of leather and the size of some of her jewelry from 2019 resembles more of a shield from medieval warfare. During this time period, art and literature were strongly influenced by the seven deadly sins. It’s a categorization within the Catholic church of certain behavior or habits that are believed to cause a vicious spiral that could lead to a spiritual death. Still today can the seven deadly sins be found in pop culture. The ongoing topic inspired one of the best-selling manga Nanatsu no Taizai (The seven deadly sins) by Nakaba Suzuki. For Bones' part, with the medieval inspiration as well as the use of hyper-digital photos, the immortal theme fitted for her collaboration with the artist Roxane Mbanga.

M: I was in my twenties and as for many I went away from my family, created new relationships, did some bad things to people, did some good things to others. I reflected a lot on what morality and respect is. To do so I had to understand the Catholic way of looking at the world. I’m kind of raised in a Catholic family and even though I don’t agree with everything I found a philosophical interest in it. My mom has this kind of relationship with catholicism that I like. The principle of generosity and aime ton prochain come toi-même is something I strive for as well.

It can be seen in Bone's way of working that she tries to live as she learns. In the same way the body is present in her work, is her way of working anything but separated from people. She has done several collaborations, organized exhibitions with other jewelry designers and is a part of the creative collective The Pool in Amsterdam. In a world riding on the individualism stream, Bones seems to turn the other way.

M: I mean of course I want it to go well for me, I’m an Aries after all haha. But I know that if I’d be all alone in this I wouldn’t make it. So I try not to be jealous, I try to be sharing, even if it’s not possible all the time. But I really believe in the collective and that we can succeed together.

Text & Photography: Julia Eklund