Felieke van der Leest: Once Upon A Time in My West

A showcase from the celebrated Dutch jeweller Felieke van der Leest. This exhibition celebrates the fantastical world of fairy tales and the Wild West.

Felieke van der Leest is a trained metalsmith, graduating from the jewellery department at the Rietveld Academie (The Netherlands) in 1996. She has lived and worked in Øystese, Norway since 2008.

Living close to a Zoo, her passion for animals probably started in her childhood just like her love for crocheting in textiles. Combining this with precious metals and plastic toy animals, she developed her own idiom in contemporary jewellery and art objects. Her works are best described as portable miniature sculptures; rich in humorous language. Although Felieke's animals are mostly comical at first sight, the story they tell is never childish of frivolous. By combining contrasting materials like plastic and precious metals, Van der Leest gives her animals a different identity and context. Her work expresses the very special affection that she has for animals.

'When I am working with colour, I feel like a painter. When I am working with metal, I feel like a constructor. And when I am working with toys, I feel like a child.'

Text supplied by third party.