Bejeweled Pistols and Guns That Can Melt

A provocative exhibition by the Dutch artist Rian de Jong tackles the hot-button concern of guns. Making creative use of supplies this kind of as paraffin wax, plastic foam, and twigs, de Jong has made jewellery and objects in the shape of guns that convey her shock and outrage about the prevalence of gun violence in the United States. The exhibition, at Gallery Loupe, in Montclair, NJ, closes May 21, 2022.

Jennifer Altmann: You first explored the difficulty of guns for the exhibition One Earth, offered by Gallery Loupe, which questioned 40 intercontinental jewelers in the spring of 2020 to develop a pendant in response to COVID. You built a necklace referred to as Hey Fellas, Shoot That Damn Point, with a gun produced from cardboard on a single aspect and a piece of coral that represented COVID on the other. You also made some gun-formed brooches. Immediately after that, why did you keep with the theme of guns?

Rian de Jong: I could not occur loose from the topic—I was in the grip of all those pistols for the Just one Earth exhibition. It was COVID, and we were living in France at our property in the Pyrénées, which is in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright. And there was this astonishing information about a run on arms profits in the US. And then a picture from Lansing, MI, from a demonstration in opposition to the lockdown, of individuals carrying weapons on their chests. It was in every single newspaper in Europe. I could not consider it, just strolling the streets with this kind of a military weapon. I was astonished that guns were being permitted in a crowd like this. And that it is evidently ordinary in the US. In Europe, we simply cannot recognize it. Guns are very regulated. So that was the start.

You spent 14 yrs residing on a 50-foot boat with your spouse, Herman, checking out dozens of international locations and engaging with cultures that are quite different from The Netherlands. Your perspective as an outsider provides a fresh see to these of us who are living in the US and who could have just acknowledged the epidemic of gun violence as one thing we can not fix.  

Rian de Jong: Sure, the cultural discrepancies get me imagining. For this challenge, I questioned, what does defending by yourself with a weapon necessarily mean? Are you guarding your self, or inciting violence and hatred? Is it to confirm you have energy? Why is it so crucial to have a gun in your car, beside your mattress?

The most dramatic piece in the exhibition is an object known as Blackberry, a two-foot-prolonged gun produced from blackberry branches. How did you generate it?

Rian de Jong: We have a lot of blackberry bushes developing on our land in France. When I trim them, the thorns prick me. I get scratches. And I assumed: I have to make a gun from them. I dried the branches and sewed the twigs with each other using crochet stitches. I want somebody to think, “If I choose that gun up, I will get pricked.” I want you to imagine the soreness of having the weapon in your palms, the thorns that sting your pores and skin. There are threads hanging from the entrance of the gun, and from the threads are drops of modeling clay painted red that drip down. The pink speaks for itself.

Various of the gun-formed objects are produced from paraffin wax. Why did you use wax?

Rian de Jong: Wax is about fragility. For the object Driving Bars, I applied black wax, which is very comfortable, for the gun. The contours of the gun are copper and cold enamel, which I made by electroforming. The gun is imprisoned. It’s caged. Wax makes the gun susceptible. Generally, a gun is extremely powerful, but this a person would soften with heat, so it is not a gun. It is an illusion. If it melts, the contour of the gun will remain.

You have adorned some objects with Swarovski crystals. What prompted you to insert these colorful, sparkly stones?

Rian de Jong: I was pondering about historic weapons, individuals that sultans and kings have. I also wanted to provide some humor, to not make it all too severe. It is continue to a gun, it’s nevertheless unsafe, but you can also make fun of it.

The objects are both jewelry and object for me. You don it. You maintain it in your hand. You stick it among your waistline and your pores and skin. It could possibly evoke humor, a smile, a problem, a believed, and probably also duty. Via creativeness, you could be capable to make people understand that they never want to have just about anything to do with the electricity and murderous qualities of weapons.

Did you worry that the exhibition would be as well controversial?

Rian de Jong: Of course, of program. But I experienced to do it, since it haunted me. This work is intense, I comprehend that, but artwork has to make a statement. For Individuals, it might be a bit confronting. I hope that Us residents are confronted by this. What I would like is for individuals to use one particular of my pieces, or have a single at dwelling, and have it commence a dialogue.

Tell me about Blue, a pendant necklace with a little upside-down gun produced of wrapped copper wire which is painted blue.

Rian de Jong: Buddies who arrived to the studio were being wanting at this necklace, and at initially they didn’t know what they were viewing, and then at a single moment they observed that it was a gun. And I like that. You really do not see it at first look, but upon a next appear.

The pendant hangs from a slim brown rope.

Rian de Jong: The way a piece connects to the human body, I like that to be as humble as attainable, so I utilized rope. It reveals that you can make putting things with humble supplies.

Crimson—a gun manufactured from purple wax sticks—sits in a gentle-blue cardboard box, and on top rated of the box you place a map with crimson dots marking all the web-sites of mass shootings in the United States. What do you hope it gets individuals thinking about?

Rian de Jong: Men and women don’t recognize how a lot of shootings there have been. When you see it on the map, you realize the range is huge. The gun is a little bit playful. It seems like licorice. You want to chunk it.

Ring Gun is a a few-inch paraffin gun coated in a vine-like sample of silver chilly enamel. It is connected to a ring, which suits in excess of the finger, when the gun is tucked in the hand.

Rian de Jong: I like that you can hold it, you can really feel it, you can demonstrate it. It is a bit naughty.

Your existence of travel has often inspired your operate. This selection was produced throughout the pandemic, when vacation was restricted. How did keeping put in France influence this get the job done?

Rian de Jong: We utilised to be on land 50 % the year and on our boat the other half. That stopped with COVID. But you however have the memory of touring, which is constantly with you. Sometimes I really don’t come to feel the inspiration for get the job done at the second we are traveling, but it comes later on, usually a great deal later on. It just will come.

What conjures up you to keep building jewelry?

Rian de Jong: I love that you use it on your body, that it demonstrates who you are. It is portion of your currently being. It’s what you adore. It is who you are.

To understand extra about the items in this display, examine out the exhibition webpage, in this article.