Inspired by free writing, gadgets, song lyrics and YouTube tutorials, Simon Marsiglia’s wearable sculptures embody self-perception as semi-fictional characters. “The work is unfinished until the object comes alive”

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?

Where to source second-hand fur in Amsterdam mid spring? Apparently the piece I already have was way to small for the intended purpose of covering parts of a headpiece I’m working on – that’s what you get for not taking measurements.

What are some of your favourite words?

Lately I’ve been into wearing what can best be described as “desigual 2003 - 2005” so whatever words or sentences you can find on those pieces of clothing. I guess it’s more like quirky sentences with motivational messages like “start to dream” or “you only have one phone and it’s in the kitchen where everyone else is”.

Can we start by you telling me a bit about the path how you came to discover your style and practice?

I think the notion of objects giving you special powers has always been there for me. For example, when I was a kid, I really wanted to wear those orange sunglasses that Edgar David’s had because I thought it would make me a better soccer player. I came to Amsterdam in 2016 to study at Rietveld but jewellery was uncharted territory for me at that time. I had mostly been making big scale charcoal drawings and other two-dimensional things. Through some Instagram post I ended up visiting the exhibition ‘CULT’ at Stedelijk Museum in S’ Hertogenbosch. This revolved around jewellery and identity. It was the first time I came into contact with contemporary jewellery in an exhibition environment. I remember thinking “YES! That’s my medium, I want to wear the stuff I make”.

I looked into how jewellery was being presented on Instagram, for example, and I saw a lot of objects on white backgrounds like in a white cube gallery. I figured if I do the complete opposite it would help me distinguish myself and my work from the rest of the contemporary jewellery that was being presented online. So, I started to frame my wearable objects with this idea of myself as a semi-fictional character. I could embrace the aspects of myself that I preferred. All while getting immediate feedback on my work. It’s not always the easiest to do. Even though it looks like I take pictures of myself all the time it’s a totally different story behind the camera. Good luck finding a picture of me taken by another person where I don’t blink or freeze up.

In your practice, what is most important to you to try and communicate?

That it’s fun and playful. Another thing would be that who you are as a person matters as much as the work you do, I might not be the most technical person, but I’m pretty good when it comes to reaching out and making friends. I don’t want to feel restricted to a certain medium or technique. Today I’m working on a necklace, but I’m also working on a fountain… and I want those to be equally appreciated. I don’t believe in the seriousness of a clean presentation - it is easier to relate to something that is a bit messy and personal.

Can you tell us a bit about the concepts you tend to work with? What are your main inspirations?

Currently I’m doing a lot of free writing exercises, so some works originate from those. I try to do one every day. Other than that, it could be the lyrics to a song or a YouTube tutorial. I love gadgets and stupid shit like that. Most of the time I combine sources from different places, so it could be that I watch a David Cronenberg movie and combine it with a Lana Del Rey lyric. I think you could say that my process is like a melting pot for different genres. The more places you pick from the more people will be able to relate to your work. It is important that the process does not stop once the object is created. The work is unfinished until the object comes alive in the shape of a picture suggesting a context for where the object belongs.

Can you tell us a bit more about the writing pieces you’ve been working on? Do you see this writing work is intertwined with your jewelry making practice?

Definitely, I would say the writing goes with almost everything I make right now, not only the wearables. Using fiction writing as a strategy for making has proven itself very useful to me. It is a starting point to resort to, even if I’d be completely out of ideas. I work with very few restrictions when writing, though the stories have to include an object or a character, it can’t just be complete nonsense. Once I have either of those, I’m able to build an environment around them. What I'm doing is essentially reverse-engineering movie props where in my case the story exists for the sake of the object. Here is an example of a fiction I wrote and the object that it resulted in.

BEEP BEEP BEEP
Hmpf. They really hated the sound of the alarm in the morning, yet the piercing sound was the only thing that could get them out of bed. Since they would probably receive the first call already during the breakfast charging session, they reached for the bluetooth headset on the nightstand. It was almost an automatic procedure by this point.
Step 1: Get ears violated by the alarm!
Step 2: Put on the headset!
Step 3: Go through the portal!

The headset powered up and the text-to-speech voice welcomed them to another day in paradise…they hated that voice. Next in line was to put down the code to transport them from the capsule to the charging room. As they did this every single day it did not require much brain power. Their thoughts wandered away and they did not (as the sign above the portal clearly stated that you should) pay attention before entering. Not only did their muscle memory betray them when punching the code, but a small starfish-looking parasite from the capsule ventilation system saw its chance and went in with them. As they reached the other side something was not quite right. For starters their location was not the intended charging room but rather a one-way portal beach, meaning the return portal was in another part of the map. This was a result of the particle standards of portals chapter 643 section 4 row 5 blablabla. They had been told this countless times. Other than the fact that they would be extremely late for the next mission they also felt a slight tickling on the tip of the ear where the headset usually was sitting. They reached for it only to realise that the headset was nowhere to be found. Instead some sort of claw-shaped thing had their ear in a steady grip and a long spike formation had replaced the antenna of the headset now growing on both sides of the head. As they tried to look down their shoulders to examine what was going on, something slightly unpleasant was discovered. The headset had somehow morphed with the small parasitic creature and was now digging into the skin with full force just above the collarbone using its tiny sharp legs like drills. They ran down to the water to try and figure out what was happening, maybe they could get a glimpse of themselves in the dirty water. What they encountered in the surface reflection was by all means a terrifying sight. The only thing still remaining from the headset were the on and off buttons, the rest was by now covered with a cocoon looking material that seemed to have decided to become a part of the body. The limbs of the now seemingly alive headset spread down the shoulders. They realised it was no longer possible to move the head from side to side as the headset-entity had them in a tight grip with no intention to let go. For a second the consideration of giving in to the creature was tempting, it would be so easy to just give up. Then they remembered that a new hologram booster would arrive to the lab later that day and they wouldn’t want to miss that for the world. Another day in paradise, they thought, and started to, one by one, rip the parasite's limbs out of their shoulders - leaving perfectly circular wounds deep like ice cream cones and a burning pain behind.

Your pieces are wearable sculptures. What guides how they’ll be worn?

That is usually included from scratch. The placement often has a purpose coming from the same source as the rest of the idea. Like how this work originates from the song ‘Drowning’ by A Boogie wit da Hoodie. He is talking about dipping jewellery in a fountain and how his wrist is icy, and so on. So, then I combined the lyrics with a picture of a deep sea-slug and created this wrist fountain. One of the reasons I started making wearable pieces was that I could carry them around and people would give me immediate feedback, sort of how it works on Instagram.

One of the most distinct features of your work is the multimedia you create with. What decides the materials you design with?

As of quarantine season, I’ve definitely taken a more crafty approach to what I do, but I really like it so far. I think being able to adapt to stuff is a good strength to have. Other than that, I believe in the beauty of imperfection. When you try something for the first time the struggle creates an unpolished result that shows personality. For me, it’s important to not get stuck with one thing, it’s important to keep developing. Trying out new things and switching between materials and techniques helps me to avoid overthinking decisions.

What advice would you give right now to other independent business owners and freelance workers, during this difficult time?

Take this strange time of no distractions to produce a big body of work. This situation is (hopefully) not going to last forever and once we can go back to a semi-normal lifestyle you want to be the one with stuff to show for it. Reach out to fellow artists and suggest collaborations that are possible to do at a distance and try to maybe sell it online, that’s where your audience is right now anyways. For example, I have just released a collaboration with GEORGINA TREVIÑO Contemporary Jewelry.

If you could choose a soundtrack to your work, what would it be?

My peak energy is when I’m around other people that are making cool stuff, so I put together a short playlist with music made by friends of mine combined with some energetic bangers that I think catches the vibe of how I work. It might be a bit all over the place but so is my style.

What is next for you?

I’m graduating from Rietveld this year we’ll see how that goes with the current situation. Then I’m starting up a jewellery collective in central Amsterdam together with a very mixed group of people. It will be called ‘The Pool’ and the location is Grimburgwal 4, Amsterdam, so come by once it is back to somewhat normal. Feel free to shoot me a message on @smalaskuggan.