Totem Hero Necklace

in collaboration with Elisabetta Cipriani Lab 

The Totem Necklace "Hero" is based on the traditional Kazakh full chest necklace called Onirzhek. It has a particular composition consisting of few interconnected horizontal rows, building a vertical column of the totem. Each row has a specific meaning. These type of necklaces was used as protective amulets and shielded the whole chest - the sacred heart chakra. 

Like many other Turkic necklaces, the unique composition and style of the  Onirzhiek necklace descended from the armour of the first amazon warriors of  Central Asian steppes. 

The face of the hero was inspired by the Balbal statues in Kazakhstan, spreading across the Eurasian Steppe, from Mongolia to Ukraine. These stone figures were placed in large open spaces as tombstones to represent Kazakh aruakh (ancestors). 

A painting from a palace in Azerbaijan was the inspiration for the fish, showing  a lion holding a sword whilst standing on the head of a fish. The sword is presented as a symbol of power, with the fish presenting us with the idea of how fleeting power can be. The precariousness of the lion standing on its head reminds us that power can all too easily slip through our fingers.

Before the crucifixion of Christ, the fish was a symbol of christianity, representing the hero Jesus Christ, as opposed to him as a spiritual leader. The symbol of the fish harks back to parables such as the mass production of fish and loaves in the feeding of the five thousand.

"I imagined my Hero as a column of rows, symbols. 

There is a little bird with an olive branch on top of the head, referencing Noah's story, the archetypal Hero who saved all species to exist. From another view, this bird is a symbol of an idea, a dream, you shoot out of your imagination, and it flies back to you and sparks the creative process. Creativity for me is a state when you feel almighty, it evokes a lot of energy. 

Then, you see a serpent coiled around the sun disk. This one is a reference to God Ra. In Egyptian mythology, Ra was the god of the sun. He was the most important god in Ancient Egypt. It was said he was born each morning in the East and died each night in the West. In the night he travelled through the underworld. I used this as a symbol of unity with time, space and humanity, saying that we are all One.  In my view, only when you feel this unity, you become truly connected with yourself and by that you can live through compassion to others.  

The Hero's face is simplified and has no gender, symbolising that the ego has no meaning. Halos around his head, illustrate the transmission of his energy. His third eye is wide open as a symbol of intuition and wisdom. The crosses on his checks are symbols of high concentration on his action.  

The Hero has wings, showing the importance of bravery and readiness to take off,  to commit the heroic deed. 

The body shoots branches with leaves, as symbols of new beginnings.  

The Hero stays on a fish, such as to say that you should never forget about the  slippery surface of the reality and the impossibility of attaining one Truth."  

Aigana Gali 

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