POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

'The Anamorphosis of Rhea' necklace by Nicole Polentas

Object No. 2012/123/1

Nicole Polentas is a jeweller who lives in Melbourne but has strong connection with Greece and in particular the island of Crete from which her family migrated to Australia in the 1970s. Her Greek heritage, Greek cultural traditions and the 'sense of place' resonate strongly in her works - mostly large brooches and necklaces. Much of Polentas' jewellery is conceptual in meaning and while mostly abstract in design, she likes to incorporate symbolic motifs and images. Made in 2010, 'The Anamorphosis of Rhea' was the first necklace in the series inspired by mythological Greek figures and its design references a range of public spaces and monuments photographed by Polentas during her research trips to Crete. Looking at perceptions of women in Greek societies over a period of time and through the concept of anamorphosis (a deformed image that appears in its true shape when viewed from an unusual point), the necklace draws on the ancient mythology and iconography of Crete. The dominant design element is a porcelain classical female head that protrudes awkwardly out of the frame of the sculptural, multi-element pendant. It represents Rhea, the mother of Zeus also known in Greek mythology as the 'mother of all gods'; she was originally worshiped in Crete. Rhea was represented in classical art as nude or dressed in the Cretan woman's costume complete with a tiara shaped like a topless cone, an element also alluded to in the pendant. Polentas notes: '..with its symbols and forms layered and juxtaposed, the pendant almost appears to be Rhea's body...morphing and changing throughout time... The figure of the woman takes on a metamorphosis - a transformation of the ideal female figure throughout history. It questions how history has influenced the culture...' Polentas explains* that the head comes from a modern, souvenir-market figurine - a scaled-down porcelain replica of a classical marble statue. It is used here to symbolise transformation and mimesis (in ancient Greece, mimesis was an idea that governed the creation of works of art through imitation or representation of the physical world). Just as the head is a fragment of a reproduced classical statue, Polentas is using fragments of classical myths, represented by relevant symbols, to muse on the changing yet tradition-grounded perceptions of women in Greek society. 'It is a copy of a statue and I am making a copy of myth and reality' she says. This is further explored though the symbolic use of natural coral, a popular material in women's jewellery since antiquity; here the white coral evokes a bone or part of a skeletal structure and relates to the tragic end of Brithomartis, the Minoan goddess worshipped in Crete who flung herself into the sea to escape the violence of King Minos. The remaining composite motifs and pseudo script used on many components of the necklace are drawn from sources such as Islamic texts found on public fountains scattered throughout Crete (much of modern Greece was at certain times part of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th century and 1821). The script is indecipherable and refers to the popular Cretan tradition of the Mantinada, a common form of a folk song that can express emotions such as sorrow, hope, love and desire. The script on the spiral wire formation supporting the pendant was also inspired by the Phaistos Disk, now in the Heraklion Museum. Originally from the Minoan palace of Phaistos on Crete, it is one of the most famous mysteries of archeology: accepted as authentic by most scholars but questioned by some, the second millennium BC clay disc is covered with a spiral of stamped symbols of unknown meaning. The rich symbolism and meaning of the 'The Anamorphosis of Rhea' necklace is completed by its colours: the blue and white of Greece's iconic stark white buildings set against blue skies and seas. * correspondence with the artist Eva Czernis-Ryl , 2012