Bulgari's special exhibition for the Year of the Snake arrives in Shanghai, kicking off a journey of innovation in art jewellery with the classic snake totem
The snake, a mysterious creature of nature, winds through the origin myths and legends of different civilizations, like a spiritual bond that runs through time and space, connecting human beings' deep thoughts on life and eternity. From Fuxi and Nuwa in the East to Nāga in India, from the world snake in Northern Europe to the spirit snake that tempted Eden in the Bible, its figure wanders between heaven and earth, reflecting the reincarnation and renewal of life, and reflecting human beings' eternal thinking on spirituality, wisdom and natural forces.
It is a profound metaphor about the essence of life in philosophical thinking. The image of the snake carries extremely complex and multifaceted symbolism. It transcends culture and region, presenting a symbolic meaning that is coincidental and interconnected in different civilizations, becoming a bridge connecting common human experience and cultural diversity.
As the Chinese Lunar Year of the Snake is approaching, the first BVLGARI special exhibition for the Year of the Snake, "SERPENTI INFINITO: Endless Life", is held at Zhang Garden in Shanghai. Focusing on the image of the snake and its endless transformation in art, history and contemporary creative expression, it unfolds a cross-temporal dialogue spanning the East and the West, the past and the present, art and jewelry, and inheritance and innovation.
The exhibition brings together many masterpieces of the Bulgari Serpenti series and 28 works by 19 Chinese and foreign artists. Through the three chapters of "Time is green, the snake roams the long scroll of history", "Mysterious universe, the snake occupies the vast universe", and "Infinite reverie, the snake interprets eternity", it deeply explores the diverse charm of the image of the snake in different creative fields, of which 11 works of art are specially created for this exhibition.
At the opening of the special exhibition for the Year of the Snake, the theme forum "New Ideas of the Snake - Diverse Interpretations in Contemporary Art and Jewelry" was also held in the Zhang Garden Pavilion. The forum was hosted by Lai Fei, editor-in-chief of the bilingual contemporary art magazine LEAP and executive editor of the Chinese version of ArtReview.
Jean-Christophe Babin, CEO of Bulgari, Wu Yue, president of LVMH Group Greater China, American artist Daniel Rozin, Belgian artist Cate M Mercier, UAE artist and product designer Azza Al Qubaisi and Chinese digital artist Fei Jun deeply analyzed the unique meaning and contemporary interpretation of the image of the snake in different cultures, art fields and jewelry aesthetics.
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Connecting the East and the West, spanning the past and the present
Bvlgari’s cross-temporal dialogue with Chinese culture
As a universal symbol that inspires human imagination, the snake has been regarded as a sacred totem in Chinese culture since ancient times. In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", the snake is the embodiment of divinity, permeating between mountains and rivers.
In the twelve zodiac signs, the snake corresponds to the "Si" which symbolizes and metaphors the transition of time: Si, when the yang is exhausted and the yin is hidden, all things are visible and the text is revealed, implying that the vigorous vitality is ready to go with a sharp forward posture.
Across the ocean, the rich cultural connotations and endless transformation spirit contained in the snake are constantly resonated, transmitted and reshaped in the Serpenti series of works created by BVLGARI in 1948. In this exhibition, the image of the snake also becomes a cultural bridge connecting the Bulgari Serpenti series of jewelry, Chinese traditions and the new generation of global art creation, interpreting Bulgari's pioneering role in global cultural integration.
The first chapter of the exhibition, "The Green Time, the Snake Roaming the Long Scroll of History," focuses on the profound symbolic meaning of the snake in traditional Chinese culture, showing its charming resonance in myths and legends, artistic creations, and daily life.
The Warring States jade ring engraved with agile snake patterns, the Western Zhou bronze vessel "He Zun" decorated with a winding snake body, and the Ming Dynasty court python-patterned gauze robe with a variety of embroidery and weaving techniques, together demonstrate the undoubted profound meaning of the snake in traditional Chinese culture.
Green-ground embroidered shoulder-length cloud-python pattern gauze round-collar robe (Ming Dynasty)
From ancient times to the present, snakes have always been an important inspiration for artistic creation, and have been given new vitality in different eras and in the hearts of craftsmen.
The artworks presented in this chapter pay tribute to traditional Chinese handicrafts, including paper-cut art installations, silk painting popular in the Tang and Song dynasties, and gold wire cold enamel installations that inherit the cloisonné craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty.
Among them, artist Luo Ming combines ancient paper-cutting techniques with modern technology and materials. In the paper-cutting installation “Serpent Teng in the Golden Realm”, she makes auspicious paper-cutting patterns such as wheat ears and fairy grass pass through the snake's body and clouds, symbolizing the mutual growth and integration of the snake and nature; Qiu Anxiong's “The Mysterious Peach Spring – A Rendezvous with Snake” reinterprets the “Snake Man” chapter in Pu Songling’s “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”.
In this painting, which is set against a Chinese landscape background, a snake keeper and a green snake meet unexpectedly, and the story that happens between them shows the profound and harmonious coexistence between man and nature.
In Spring Encounter, young sculptor Mo Lijuan draws on traditional ancient Chinese snake-shaped decorative elements, using auspicious patterns to interpret the transformation of the snake from its hibernating coiled form to its activities after waking up, giving the snake endless imagination.
Since Bulgari transformed the snake's winding body into a winding jewelry watch in 1948, this iconic totem has become an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the Italian jewelry house Bulgari with its rich connotations and multicultural essence. In this exhibition, 11 exquisite works from the Bulgari antique collection series tell the evolution of the image of the snake.
From the stylized Serpenti Tubogas jewelry watch in the 1960s to the modern style Serpenti series gold belt inspired by the belt in the 1970s, it vividly shows the timeless style of precious and gorgeous works in the 1970s.
These works lead visitors through time and space, immersively exploring the transformation and rebirth of Bulgari's snake image over the past seventy years, and forming a cross-time and space dialogue with the snake totem that runs through China's thousand-year cultural history.
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Wisdom, protection and power
The multiple symbols of the snake as an inexhaustible source of inspiration
The second chapter of the exhibition, "Mysterious Universe, Snakes Encircle the Vast Universe", presents the contemporary creations of six artists, focusing on the three symbolic meanings of snakes: wisdom, protection, and power.
From materials such as ceramics, glass, and stone to mixed media such as sculpture, sound art, painting, and video, the image of the snake uses different materials and artistic techniques as carriers to show a variety of styles that condense creativity.
Renowned Chinese contemporary artist Xu Bing explored the connection between the serpent and wisdom in his work Square Word Calligraphy: Serpenti, while artist and jewelry designer Azza Al Qubaisi drew inspiration from the changing nature of the natural world to create a sculptural installation in mild steel and stainless steel, Between the Lines, which echoes the serpent’s metamorphic nature.
Experimental musician Li Daiguo and visual artist Li Shurui co-created We · Entwinement, which combines the charm of classical instruments with the creativity of modern sound art, inviting the audience to think about the protective power of the snake.
In the video work Ring of Life by visual artist and film director Luka Yuanyuan Yang, the flow of all things is presented in the form of ouroboros, a mysterious and eternal ring. This work reminds us that time is not only a linear process, but also a present that is constantly protected and renewed.
Kathryn Massey’s bronze sculptures, The Small and Big Python Head and The Mandarin, are made of clay and finely carved in bronze, exploring the rich symbolism and powerful evolutionary abilities of the snake. Contemporary Chinese ceramic artist Wu Haoyu’s work New Stoneware – Serpenti explores the concept of harmonious coexistence between man and nature in traditional Chinese culture.
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Infinite imagination, eternal and everlasting
A spirit snake traveling between the real and virtual worlds
The endless charm of the snake gives Bulgari Serpenti jewelry extraordinary creative inspiration, from visual aesthetics to craftsmanship, constantly changing between precision and complexity, simplicity and variety. In the chapter "Infinite Reverie, the Snake Interprets Eternity", the Serpenti high-end jewelry series highlights Bulgari's interpretation of the theme of "infinity".
The classic TUBOGAS series inlaid with colored gemstones combines the endless forms of the serpent and the Möbius strip, integrating artistic conception and craftsmanship into the design language of high-end jewelry;
in the Serpenti Infinito high-end jewelry necklace, bracelet and brooch, the smooth lines of five serpents converge into a symbol of infinity, as if echoing the original power of the universe and endless renewal and rebirth;
the Serpenti Rubellite Crown high-end jewelry necklace interprets the transformation of the serpent totem with a brand-new attitude;
in the Serpenti Emerald Nimbus high-end jewelry necklace, the geometric-style serpent body is inlaid with dazzling diamonds of various cuts, which complement the emerald in the center and present a strong visual tension.
Focusing on the concept of "infinity", this chapter invites domestic and foreign artists to explore jewelry design and contemporary art, using the snake as a symbol of the intersection of spirit and aesthetics to open up a new vision of avant-garde art.
Nine contemporary artists use a variety of media, technologies and materials such as video, spatial installation, painting, artificial intelligence, etc. to cleverly integrate traditional imagery with future innovations.
Renowned new media artist Refik Anadol created a new digital art installation Infinito: AI Data Sculpture, inspired by the rich morphological changes of snakes in nature. The design of this work is inspired by the transformation journey and eternal beauty of the snake, marking a new chapter in the collaboration between Bulgari and Refik Anadol since 2021.
Hong Seung-Hye’s wall installation Snake, Too Long interprets the snake imagery in poetry through a humorous art installation; Utopic Arabia’s computer-generated Serpenti Odyssey explores the mysterious origins of this ancient totem through an imaginative visual language.
Inspired by the golden scales of the Serpenti series, artist Daniel Rozin created the interactive wall installation Snake Scales Mirror;
Chinese avant-garde artist Fei Jun invited mathematicians, psychologists and scientists to jointly create the Geometry of Emotions 5.0 series of works, cleverly integrating cutting-edge artificial intelligence and emotional computing technologies into artistic creation, exploring the intersection and fusion of art and science in psychological healing;
cutting-edge digital artist Zhou Chao used algorithmic generation technology to create the work Infinite Flow, vividly demonstrating the infinite possibilities of the integration of technology and art.
In the work "Spring", artist Xie Wendi cleverly combines glass blowing and metal rotation to present a circling form, attempting to reveal the inherent dialectical contradictions of the spirit snake; Xue Feng fully interprets the infinite creativity of the spirit snake in the painting "Infinite Door" with unrestrained brushstrokes and bold construction of the canvas space; Qi Le is good at using a variety of art forms to capture and reproduce subtle, profound and complex moments;
in Qi Le's sculptural installation "Lucid Dream", nature and dreams are intertwined, showing the artist's thinking on the ever-changing close bond between the spirit snake, human creativity and the power of the earth.
In addition, Bulgari also brought the Serpenti Infinito immersive virtual reality experience to this special exhibition, allowing the audience to personally appreciate the infinite charm of the snake totem's continuous transformation and rebirth in the digital world.
The snake totem has achieved endless evolution and changes through Bulgari's superb craftsmanship and uninhibited creativity, and in this experience project, these myriad changes have been given a new way of expression, closely connecting the real and virtual worlds.
Final Words
After more than 70 years, the Serpenti series has always resonated with the times, ingeniously combining excellent craftsmanship with creativity, and blooming with dazzling artistic charm in the endless journey of transformation. As the Year of the Snake is approaching, Bulgari brings the masterpieces of the Serpenti series to once again arouse people's respect and imagination for the spirit snake.