Malaika Heart 2023_Shell_Nude (POSSIBLE TO BUY THE SHELL-JEWEL TOO), MALAIKA - T.O.E. Art Market

Malaika and her "natural shells" were born from an intense and vivid sensation: years ago I heard sound waves bounce over and over, making the air vibrate, giving greater power to otherwise imperceptible and usually defined as inaudible noises. This sound image has accompanied me since birth and this mingling of senses started it all. Although Malaika immediately made its way into the fashion sector as well, the jewel remains its original root and this is why we thought of a dedicated campaign to create an imaginary shot through these photographs. The shell represents the soul of the brand Malaika. It is a unisex, unique, versatile, handcrafted and everlasting object, to be worn not only as a traditional necklace but also combined with scarves, bags / pochettes, key rings; as a classy and fashionable accessory or simply an addition to anyone’s wardrobe. Malaika's idea is to be able to combine art, tradition and influences as well as backgrounds of the countries I have lived in (Ivory Coast, Indonesia, United States, Italy) to create an authentic and innovative jewel. The frame can be mounted in 18kt Gold or 925'/...Silver can also be galvanized yellow, pink or black upon request. The keywords that make up the creative universe of Malaika are novelty, uniqueness, and high-quality craftsmanship: it is the combination of cultures, the union through the diversity of a life lived on various continents. Hence, to create a campaign for Malaika shells, I thought of collaborating with the incredible Turin photographer Carola Allemandi, who had previously done a work on the nude that utterly struck me and for which I thought could be an additional key to interpreting my shells. Thus we began, together, to understand the accessory not only as an object only meant to be worn, but as something that could live in its own context and tell a different story. For this reason, before starting the shots, the idea of merging the natural shells set as jewels with the theme of the nude seemed the most appropriate to be able to frame, interpret and transport them in their natural dimension. In fact, through these images, we have tried to ideally reconstruct the original scenario from which the shell-jewels may have been drawn and brought to us. This is how, thanks to the nude, the shells appear as "found" on what could be an aquatic creature, where at the same time they can take, from one image to another, the shape of a rock on which they have remained attached, dragged by the waves. The naked body, in these shots, is not a model, it is not just a woman, nor is a passive element who finds herself wearing a rare and precious object: it's a volume, it's a shape, it's a movement frozen in the shots but to return transformed each time, thus giving the jewels a vision that changes with its metamorphoses, and for this reason is always alive.