Louise Meuwissen and Rose Chong Costumes present All the Treasure Together - a sparkling sculptural shroud of retired antique, vintage and new costume jewellery from the collection of Rose Chong Costume Shop, and the generous donations of the wider community.
Fashioned from collected antique, vintage and contemporary costume jewellery, Meuwissen's glittering, sculptural shroud envelopes the iconic window of Rose Chong's Costume Shop.
This work considers the embellishments and adornment of costuming as mechanisms to draw forth parts of ourselves that may not always be visible or shared, represent abstract concepts, commune collectively with a broader theme, to disguise ourselves or become someone else.
Costumes are a tool of transportation to peripheral realms. Other times, other places, other selves.
Drawing on the rich history and rituals of dressing up, Meuwissen's garish, glittering work asks us to consider the relationship between personal-expression and escapism, and to question 'what is real, and what is make-believe?'
With special thanks to the generous donations of Rose Chong and Rose Chong's Costume Shop, Sarah Rayner, Catherine Bell, Raquel Ormella, Miranda Skoczek, Katie Stackhouse, Carla Adams, Fiona Hiscock c/o Elsa Haas, Lee Dewar, Laura McMahon, Sophie Bishop, Jessica Wheelahan, Emica Lore, Gabbee Stolp, Natalie Thomas, Eddy Carroll, Kate Dick, Jordan Wood, Anne Stonehouse, Julie Austin-Dear, Margaret-Anne Milburn and many many other's, names unknown.
This project is supported by the City of Yarra through their Small Projects Grants 2022.
Image caption: Louise Meuwissen, All The Treasure Together - Chained, 2019 (detail). From Call of the Hoard with John Brooks, John Gosper and Eileen Braybrook. Photo by Eva Otsing.