Kendell Geers
The Word (Love) Made Flesh, 2019
Silver and enamel cufflinks
2 x 2cm
Edition of 20
Signed and numbered
The Word (Love) Made Flesh collection consists of a pendant and cufflinks featuring an intricate figurine-like design derived from the ‘Hwe Mu Dua’ (‘measuring stick’) symbol – the West African Andrinka symbol of excellence and perfection. The pendant beautifully displays different brightly coloured patterns on each side, whereas the cufflinks reveal positive and negative black and images. These spiritually charged wearable sculptures cannot, however, be categorised as either European or African, but are rather representative of an interplay between cultures, archetypal signs, and sacred symbols.
In the true spirit of Kendell Geers, the archetypal trickster, the ancient African symbols featured in The Word (Love) Made Flesh have been refashioned in an Afropunk style and spell out the word ‘LOVE.’ The Word (Love) Made Flesh thus epitomises the artist’s tendency to subvert ancient iconography by embracing both traditional and contemporary African aesthetics.
As the title suggests, The Word (Love) Made Flesh invites the wearer to search for the hidden word within the figure. Words that reoccur throughout the artist’s works include ‘LOVE,’ ‘HATE,’ ‘FAITH,’ ‘FUCK,’ and ‘FREE,’ among others. The pendant and cufflinks can be personalised to spell out the artist key words or the wearer’s name.
