TAB Event - Henk Leppink Exhibition

This event has ended.
At Gallery Deux Poissons
Media: Fashion, Crafts

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Henk Leppink (b. 1956) started his career as a painter during the 1970s. His experience of making jewelry as a gift for his close friend motivated him to become a jewelry designer around 1990. Since then, he has been actively exhibiting works at the Dries Van Noten boutique in Antwerp, along with various galleries.

Leppink makes jewelry using a wide variety of buttons. He even places an ad in the newspaper sometimes and asks people to contribute buttons. He answers phone calls from old women who cherish their buttons and persuades them to donate their "treasures" to him. Leppink puts to good (re)use buttons taken from used clothes, underwear and pillow cases in various colors, styles, materials and sizes.

Leppink first washes these buttons, sews them onto rubber bands, and then shapes them into pieces of jewelry. The lives and memories of their previous owner are encapsulated in the necklaces and bracelets he creates, spinning out a whole new story when they are worn by a new owner.

In recent years, Leppink has also been producing packages for his work, making them out of fabrics, leather, newspaper and cans. While a package is an important element that serves to complete a whole by becoming one with the jewelry wrapped inside it, it also prompts the viewer to contemplate the backgrounds and histories of the buttons used to create the jewelry.

Situated at the other extreme end of the spectrum from mass-produced products, Leppink's jewelry exudes a sense of warmth and history all its own.

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