In the collection Passio (1992), consisting solely of pendants, the use of symbols became crucial. Some pieces, such as Machiavelli, Isis and Alexis are completely covered, overloaded with symbols of all kinds of origins – the meaning of which remains quite obscure, while the effect is heavily strong because of all hidden meanings presumed to be there. The titles refer to historical and biblical figures. Together with the forms of the pendants which somehow reminded of vessels for incence holders used in Roman Catholic ceremonies, these jewels had a fairly ritual and religious character. The ceremonial character was intensified by the installation in which they were shown in the gallery – each piece hidden in a sort of shroud of blue-purple gauze netting that hung from the ceiling to the ground. Today we cannot imagine the astonishment and hesitancy of the audience in 1992, confronted with this rather unconventional presentation of jewellery. Nobody had seen a thing like this before, and it took some courage to open the veils and to look inside, facing the jewel directly. Ruudt Peters had found a new way to present his jewellery, by asking commitment of the audience.
From Jewellery is my laboratory by Liesbeth den Besten