Jewelry and styling by Aimee Petkus
Modeled by Sarah Hepner
Hair and makeup by Katherine Taylor
Photography by Timothy Hutto
Photographic assisting by Helen Freude
The idea for this piece came from my love of collecting. I love collections of all sorts, and I especially love creative ways of displaying a collection. The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, California has among the most creative and delightful methods of displaying collections. I also adore the scenic dioramas in natural history museums. So I decided I wanted to make a wearable diorama of an African watering hole.
This piece is constructed using real horns and taxidermy. The horns around the neck are from a Springbok antelope, and the horns coming out of the alligator's mouth are from a Kudu antelope. There are three heads from varying sizes of alligators and the chain is made of alligator feet. Alligators don't actually live in Africa, only crocodiles. However, chose to use alligators because I recently moved to Savannah Georgia where alligators do exist, and having never lived around such a terrifying animal, I've become fascinated with them. Also the name Savannah has African ties, so it call comes full circle for me.
Over 250 gemstones are strategically placed throughout the piece and copper electroforming was used to encase the pieces in metal.
For the photoshoot, I wanted to place the diorama in its natural habitat like you would see in a muesum diorama, and find the right balance with the model as to appear as if she is also in her natural environment.
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