Amalgama Jewels (Italy)
AMALGAMA JEWELS
Designer biography:
Amàlgama Jewels is founded by Giorgia Tasca, an Italian-American designer and artist that lives and works in Vicenza, Italy. After a formation in classical studies she graduated in fashion design at Iuav University of Venice. After several years consulting as a multi-disciplinary designer and trend forecaster she felt the need to give life to something of her own, something with an expression that had neither boundaries nor compromises. This is how Amàlgama was born. Amàlgama is a blend, a fusion, a mixture and in alchemy it’s a term that specifically refers to metal. Amàlgama Jewels is about creating rigor and disrupting it with gut feeling, about translating a stream of consciousness, a sensation into matter. This philosophy is embodied in all Giorgia’s jewels that are hand carved and created with lost wax casting, therefore unique and non-repeatable. Each Amàlgama jewel is characterized by an aesthetic register that is organic, tactile and bold.
Collection concept:
“Belladonna, n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison”
Belladonna, also known as deadly nightshade, has a long history of use dating back centuries.
This history is specifically tied to women, who throughout the years explored its variety of uses from shamanic rituals, to medicine, to cosmetics. In Palermo, Italy in the 17th century a woman called Giulia Tofana concocted her legendary “Acqua Tofana”. With this untraceable poison she aimed to protect other women by offering them a weapon to escape abusive and dangerous situations when nobody else advocated for their rights. Belladonna is the perfect symbol of the complexities and contradictions of the female experience. On one hand it represents the reclaiming of agency over one’s body and identity through beauty and mysticism, and on the other, it highlights the dangers and consequences of misogyny and oppression. This duality of femininity and strength is the message behind the creations and talismans from the Belladonna collection by Amàlgama Jewels.
Amàlgama Jewels, NO engraved necklace, Belladonna, 2024, gold plated bronze, 15x10cm
Amàlgama Jewels, melted rings, Belladonna, 2024, gold and silver plated bronze, natural pearls, enamel, 3x2,5x2,5cm
Amàlgama Jewels, choker and necklace, Belladonna, 2024, gold plated bronze, enamel, fabric, 15x10cm
Amàlgama Jewels, melted handpiece, Belladonna, 2024, silver plated bronze, natural pearl, 6x4x2,5cm