Series I

Context: from 1919 to 1920 Hilma walks through woods and fields, recording every plant and animal she meets along the way. Beside each species she marks, together with its date and its Latin name, a small coloured cross that translates that living thing into a handful of traits. The earring you see takes its cue from the sheet of a bulbous buttercup and a house spider.

Interpretation: what amazes us is not so much the species as the gesture. A small cross, barely a shy note in the margin, the synthesis of a whole character in a handful of coloured strokes. Diligent but selfish, ingenious but voracious: each annotation gives a portrait made of four arms of different colours.

Technique: we add geometric depth to that idea with a moving gold chain holding two perfect rectangles, green and blue, crossing at the centre. A marginal detail turned into a piece to wear, a character compressed into constant movement.

Source: Nature Studies, 1919–1920.