The designer has collaborated with Hauser & Wirth gallery on two new pairs of earrings, available from today
Simone Rocha first encountered the work of Louise Bourgeois aged 16, when the exhibition Stitches in Time was shown at Dublin’s Museum of Modern Art. Since then, the French-American artist’s work has been a constant source of inspiration for the Irish designer; most recently, for her Autumn/Winter 2019 collecton shown in London in February, where spiderweb embroideries – across outerwear and dresses – were the result of a collaboration with the Louise Bourgeois Foundation. “I do not know the why. and I do not need to know the why. to do my work – or do I owe the why to anybody. any body –”, read a quote from the artist on the accompanying notes.
Now, a new collaboration with gallery Hauser & Wirth sees Rocha return to the work of the artist once more with two limited edition pairs of earrings, inspired by the artist’s hanging fabric works – similar to those Rocha first encountered in Dublin. The specific inspirations were Spiral Woman (2003) and Untitled (1995), which the designer has reimagined in 24-karat gold plated sterling silver, each available in a limited edition of 250 worldwide. The works were chosen by Rocha for their exploration of themes close to the designer: self, family and femininity, and the use of fabric in the original works.
“Femininity means so many things and it can be ugly, beautiful, grotesque, emotional, physical,” Rocha told Hauser & Wirth in 2018, on the opening of their exhibiton Papillons Noirs. “I think that’s what is amazing about Louise’s work, that it’s so personal to her but it feels so personal to you.”
The earrings will be available from Simone Rocha stores from May 1, at Hauser & Wirth gallery shops (including online) and at Dover Street Market worldwide from May 16, 2019.