Elytra

Silver, anodised aluminium

Origins, observation, and ornament

Elytra was first conceived during my final year at Manchester Metropolitan University, after an especially inspiring visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford. Among the Amazonian artefacts, I was drawn to a pair of oversized, trailing earrings made from iridescent beetle wings. I was fascinated by their metallic, petrol-like colours, and by the repetition and scale-like arrangement of the wings — details that became the starting point for the work that formed my degree show.

“Elytra” is the entomological name for beetle wing covers. In my version, multiple elytra — made from dyed, anodised aluminium — are clustered together to form overlapping patterns that evoke fish scales, flower petals, or bird feathers.

The earrings can be worn suspended upside down, which causes the elytra to flare outward like an opening pinecone — dynamic, delicate, and quietly dramatic.