The pieces of jewelry included in the series “Beyond the Lover’s Eye” reference a specific historical genre of jewelry. Victorian Lover’s Eye jewelry evolved from more traditional portrait jewelry, and was a way of carrying a lover’s image without fully identifying their face. Showing only one eye and an occasional lock of hair, the pieces are often associated with illicit relationships. It is the idea of the taboo or forbidden portrait which interests me. Instead of hinting at a secret person, the pieces in this series refer to the secret parts of the body. They are areas which, for various reasons, are not typically represented in a portrait: they are too gruesome, too private, or too mundane. By isolating a single aspect of the body, that area becomes both revered and fetishized.