Claire Baloge

Alam Necklace

France, 2009

Necklace

Materials:

Camel dung, gold leaf, silk

Techniques:

gold leafing

Dimension in cm:

Approx. 40cm

Artist Statement:

The Middle East is a vast mix of

contradictions, way too vast to be

approached in its entirety in a piece of

jewelry. The people living in the Middle

East are constantly oscillating between

their traditions and the golden dream of

modernity. Through my piece I want to

highlight this idea. It's a  simple necklace

from camel dung, which is then partly gold-

leafed. I have chosen to use camel dung,

because  it’s shape and color. Although the

use of camel dung in jewelry may provoke it

also links: in  those (not so) far-away

countries, many people are still using these

animals, and their excrement, in daily life,

while some others, a few miles away , are

smoking the cigars of the oil business. I

have chosen to use gold because gold is the

referential measurement on which the

whole world economy is founded. It

remains a major symbol for jewelry, almost

everywhere around the world. while camels

are traditionally emblems of the noble

class, in the nomad society, a clear mark of

wealth and importance. It seems to be two

different temporalities, which are still

sharing the same space, coexisting in the

same territories. My wish is that my

necklace will move us to question ourselves

about the fragility and inequality of these

societal systems, and their connection and

interdependence to the developed Western

countries. I have been inspired by the work

of a Bas Princen, a Dutch photographer,

who shot photos in Cairo, Dubai and Beirut

in 2009. Focusing on the buildings, he

shows these areas under construction,  a

theatre of unlikely meetings between the

luxury world and the poor one. Without

long explanations, he manages to say a lot

about the human situation there. People are

like puppets in his pictures, almost

incidentals, overwhelmed by their

surroundings, where they do however live. I

like the way he highlights  the

juxtaposition of these two worlds, and  I

have tried to achieve the same directness

through my work.

Do you have a personal (or other)

connection to the exhibition’s theme?

I travelled in the Sahara with Touareg

people, 3 years ago. I also worked with a

Touareg jeweler/blacksmith, in a small

village, for several weeks. It remains a

strong experience for me. living with the

nomads, I was far away from the oil society

but could feel the importance of it,

seeing sometimes a  4x4 air conditioned

cars crossing the dunes heading to newly

discovered oil. In the villages they passed

the  people were suffering hunger. Two

different worlds  temporally crossing. And

yet not meeting. Georges Perrec said

"enfoncés jusqu'au cou dans un gâteau dont

ils n 'auraient jamais que les miettes" ( "les

choses", 1966)

What were the main reasons for choosing

the materials, shapes or technique in your

work?

I like the provocative side of it, the idea that

dung can be worn as an ornament.. the

rough side of it contrasting with the refined

gold leaf. I like playing between attraction

and repulsion..(which is finally what it  is

all about , when we think about our

relationship with the  Middle East, from a

european point of view) making a beautiful

piece, reduced to its essence.