Serpenti: The power of Metamorphosis

In such a fragile, fluid and fragmented time as our contemporary era, the fascination with metamorphoses is more alive than ever. They can be interpreted as natural, material or conceptual acts but also as expressions of change and of overcoming the confines of the human body. In fact, many of today’s metamorphoses take place on the body, as part of the definition of the individual and his or her interactions with the outside world. For these reasons, metamorphosis is a key motif of creativity today, explored by artists, stylists, designers and artisans, who have ventured beyond the boundaries between the various disciplines in a quest for the inclusiveness of metamorphoses From the ancient world to this day, the serpent has embodied an extraordinary symbolic richness and a surprising multiplicity of meanings, and these aspects are explored in the symbolic metamorphoses. As a symbol of transformation and renewal, the snake is an archetype that reflects the dualism of life. In its positive interpretation, it symbolizes metamorphosis, rebirth and life energy, in its negative one, temptation and evil – a symbolic dualism that has come down to us from antiquity. The metamorphoses of the serpent also stem from its seductive attraction, which has so profoundly inspired material culture, from ancient clothing to contemporary fashion, from primitive jewellery to Bulgari’s collections celebrating the serpent as a symbol, myth, creative motif and ornament to be worn. The second chapter is dedicated to these creative metamorphoses of the serpent in fashion and jewellery, while the third considers artistic metamorphoses. Art and design generate changes, shifts in context and point of view, creating mutations and stimulating evolution. For this reason, they celebrate metamorphoses and they themselves are metamorphic disciplines. After all, metamorphosis is the most revolutionary and profound act in the life of a person, a society or the world. With that in mind, Bulgari asked five artists – Refik Anadol, Ann Veronica Janssens, Azuma Makoto, Daan Roosegaard, and Vincent Van Duysen – to express their personal idea of metamorphosis. Each artist interpreted the theme through the poetics of his or her respective artistic language, with diverse, surprising, powerful results. With Serpenti: The Power of Metamorphosis, Bulgari spreads knowledge of contemporary art and design, while its jewellery expressively interprets the times, combining an eternal precious beauty with an ever-changing present. The serpent here symbolizes rebirth, art and design as a mirror of the contemporary and beauty as inner vitality.