Medusa: Jewellery and Taboos (Bijoux et tabous)

The Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris (Museum of Modern Art, Paris) presents an extensive and beautiful exhibition titled Medusa: Bijoux et tabous (Medusa: Jewellery and Taboos) examining the cultural significance of jewellery in various societies throughout history. Whether designed by artists or high-end brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, or as symbols of ethnic identity, an allusion to fantasy or as simple pieces of jewellery, the exhibition brings together over 400 bracelets, neckpieces, rings and other improbable creations to show how a piece of jewellery can trigger attraction or repulsion depending on what it is made of or how it is worn. Through the ages, jewellery has been used to express and fortify identities, values, body and sexuality. The pieces exhibited are at times strange, at times dazzling, and at times both. With an excellent scenography, the exhibits include works by celebrated artists (Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, Alexander Calder and Niki de Saint Phalles), high-end brands and smaller, unknown or anonymous creators. The exhibition comes in partnership with the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts, which has loaned the iconic crystal glove worn by Michael Jackson during the Victory Tour and the neck clock worn by hip hop group Public Enemy’s Flavour Flav.