7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art METALLOPHONE. DON’T TELL ME STORIES

October 23, 2024 - February 28, 2025

Museum of Applied Arts and Design

Arsenalo g. 3a, LT-01143 Vilnius

Paroda

‘DON’T TELL ME STORIES,’ exclaims the 7th International Biennial of Contemporary Jewellery and Metal Art, titled METALLOPHONE. How so? Aren’t we always encouraged to keep coming up with stories and telling them at every opportunity? Don’t we always say that there is a story behind every object or phenomenon? And hold on – isn’t there a sense of an influx, even a deluge, of stories? Words are only needed when they add value, when they reveal, articulate, and shape. But if they flood us, there is a real danger of drowning. Stories can be redundant, forced, artificial, frustrating and suffocating, and there are so many things in jewellery that are beyond stories, yet they bring value and experience in and of themselves. Minerals and stones, materials that require our bodies and our touch to come into their own, natural and man-made forms that catch the eye without the need for explanations. Materials and processes have meaning and agency, and all of this can be understood without words. There is a huge difference between context, which enriches perception, and an artificial narrative woven from empty words.

That’s why the biennial is asking us: ‘Stop telling meaningless stories. Tell me things that really matter. Show me only what is necessary, what you feel directly, what you want to touch and experience without understanding. Tell me about what lies behind the stories.’

How do you tell stories without doing so?

This question and topic are something of a provocation. There may be many answers. 130 artists from 30 countries talk about meanings and significances through images, objects, materials, and writing, arguing, teasing, and showing, letting the audience discover their own stories.

The 7th International Biennial of Jewellery and Metal Art “METALLOPHON: Don’t Tell Me Stories!”, the main exhibition of which will take place at the LNMA Museum of Applied Arts and Design, is accompanied by two solo exhibitions: