Joy BC, Olivia Rose

Joy BC, Olivia Rose

A goldsmith and analogue photographer respectively, Joy BC and Olivia Rose collaborate on a series of pieces about the ‘Lovers Eye.’ Taking influence from an 18th century craze by the same name (where miniature portraits of single eyes were exchanged by lovers as jewellery) Joy and Olivia will create a number of eye portraits, and multimedia artworks, which can then be worn on the body. An edition of photographic prints will accompany the wearable artworks. Eye miniatures were a curious but brief anomaly in miniature painting that came into fashion at the end of the 18th century. They were an extremely intense manifestation of an already emotionally charged art, apparently an attempt to capture ‘the window of the soul’, the supposed reflection of a person’s most intimate thoughts and feelings. Often, as here, the result was a compelling piece of jewellery. Sometimes, however, the result was merely unpleasantly anatomical or disturbingly uncanny. The notion accompanying this very short lived fad (c.1790 through 1820) was that the eye would be recognizable only to the recipient and could therefore be worn publicly keeping the lover’s identity a secret.
 Exploring themes of the voyeur, as well as the eye being “the window to the soul”, the works are a contemporary take on the ‘lovers eye’. Most lovers eyes from this period are European, white, female eyes. We will be photographing all different eyes and genders, to explore the idea of the loving gaze, as well as the conflict between the private (unidentifiable) and public (wearable) nature of a lover.