The Tsarina c.1905 Ceremonial Hand Mirror Pendant
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Octavia Cook
b.1978
Title
The Tsarina c.1905 Ceremonial Hand Mirror Pendant
Details
| Production Date | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Collection(s) | Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. Acquired with assistance from the Govett-Brewster Foundation. |
| Accession Number | 2008/8 |
| Media | acrylic, plastic mirror, sterling silver with 'emerald-cut' bevelled glass mirror |
| Measurements | 360 x 600mm |
About
Early in her practice, Octavia Cook began using her ponytailed side-profile as a recurring motif in her jewellery. In The Tsarina, Cook divests herself of her distinctive hairdo to take up the diadem and lace veil of the ill-fated Alexandra Feodorovna, last Empress of Russia.
Although hailing from the unpretentious suburb of Pakuranga in Auckland, Cook has claimed an impressive lineage through her fictional company Cook & Co. The Tsarina formed part of her 2007 show Accoutrements for the Entitled at Anna Miles Gallery, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, and Tsarina Alexandra was just one of the historic figures Cook incorporated into her own personal dynasty. Defying genetic happenstance, Cook insinuated herself into the aristocracy of various countries by trying on the hairstyles and headdresses of their past female leaders.
Her new silhouettes were sandblasted onto bevelled mirrors, or, as with The Tsarina, cut as an acrylic cameo affixed to a small portable hand mirror so that, Cook says, “the wearer could keep checking how royal they were while wearing the jewel away from home.” By mounting the necklace on a mirror, Cook offers the opportunity for the viewer to try on the piece without touching, and to see their own portrait absorbed into the Cook & Co family.
— Jane Groufsky, 2023
