Usta | Cleopatra’s Bling

From being chewed, scuffed, stuffed into a pocket, and polished with use; to sitting still in a silent, climate-controlled vitrine in a dimly lit museum. A design object is created with a blend of artistry and use in mind. And yet, when engaging with objects from the ancient world, we are usually kept at a remove, experiencing only an impoverished version of their original charm through the singular sense of sight.

Usta, by contrast, is an exhibition hosted by Cleopatra’s Bling creative director Olivia Cummings that offers multi-sensory engagement with design techniques from the historical Mediterranean and Middle East, as well as Kabulwarnamyo, West Arnhem Land.

On display are household objects, jewellery, and perfumes, all of which are crafted by Cummings and collaborators using ancient techniques from the region. Interaction is encouraged as visitors immerse themselves in ancient scents and try on Ottoman-style earrings or handle a Romanesque spoon. Food and drink is offered to guests, with recipes referencing the historical ingredients of the Silk Road trade route which once connected Italy to Turkey.

Usta – Turkish for craftsperson – engages the five senses, giving a tactile and immediate experience of ancient design techniques and how they have been passed down through interconnecting cultures and generations.

The lands the exhibition takes place upon have thousands of years of their own artistic practice, reflected in the sculptures presented by artists and wurdurd (children) of Kabulwarnamyo, West Arnhem Land. These were developed in 2023 at a joint workshop with Stone Country Creations, at which participants etched and moulded designs based on their ancestral stories, or dreamings. In an alternative form of conservation to that of museum artefacts, the design objects on display preserve the carriage of important cultural traditions and ecologies of artisanship into the present day.