LOUISE NIPPIERD

ADORNS (HER-) SELF WITH MEANING
English text under the Norwegian article

ADORNS (HER-) SELF WITH MEANING
Louise Nippierd does not create decorations for wimps, but rather for those who stand to hear some truths. UNDER HEADING:  LOUISE NIPPIERD CREATES ART FOR  OUTSIDERS. She creates jewellery that tells the story of outcasts, the oppressed and inferiors.  All over the world museums are opening  their doors to her thematic exhibitions. Nippierd's exhibitions deal  with eating disorders, homosexuality, xenophobia, religious phobia. This winter Nippierd has been invited to participate in a Nordic exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Trapholt in Denmark, where a handful of female Scandinavian designers will present their completely original works. Nippierd will represent Norway with her work on anti-fur and eating disorders. Nippierd's huge and quirky jewellery evokes the attention of art curators and opens the wallets of grant-awarding committees. But behind her art lies not only hard labour, but also much pain. "All my works are characterized by the fact of being an outsider. The main essence of my artistic life and work has been an identification with the marginalized groups in society, " Nippierd says. Nippierd is half English and half Norwegian. When she was five, she started at an English school in Bærum (Norway), the daughter of a British NATO officer. In the neighbourhood of Holmenkollen, she felt isolated because of language problems.	" People talked to me and I couldn't answer," Nippierd relates.  "And the neighbourhood kids were not very nice." They did whatever they could to make her feel  different and treat her as an outcast. (Nippierd's comment: "I was born and raised in England and moved to Norway when I was five, so I didn't speak Norwegian these first years living here"). - BLESSED WITH GRANTS. "It was a lonely time where I felt very marginalized. The two years between the ages of five and seven is crucial for my art today, " Nippierd says. Nippierd's jewellery can be seen as costumes or symbols of a troubled emotional life.  And she is fully aware that she has been pushing the limits of what is perceived as jewellery: "I never think of the commercial aspect. Maybe that's why I've been so blessed with government grants. Maybe the grant committees think: "well, that will never  sell," says Nippierd laconically. But the museums want her, and she is also blessed with collectors, who want her "collected works". Her exhibition "Cross" about eating disorders has been shown in Washington DC and all over Norway, while the anti-fur exhibition "Zoo" has been touring both in England and Germany and was recently exhibited in San Francisco. Her anti-racism exhibition "All different All Equal" has been shown in the United Nations building in Geneva.	- What do you think jewellery should express? - I would certainly like it to highlight a personality, or a state of  mind. - Are we successful with this in this country? - We are very conformal here. The jewellery doesn't reflect your personality but your wallet. In countries like the Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States there's a culture of collectors and a feeling for the one-of-a-kind work. In the Netherlands there's an equally strong interest in jewellery art as there is in fine art, "says Nippierd. - Do you consider your work as jewellery, sculptures or installations? - All at the same time. But some of my sculptural works are not intended to be worn, even though they are wrapped around the body. They are designed to tell a story. I choose topics that upset me or touch me the most, " says Nippierd.

 

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