Julia DeVille

Alternative New Zealand-born artist, Julia deVille is creating new life with death

New Zealand-born accessories designer Julia deVille is eccentric to say the least.
Working with gold and silver, wood, taxidermy and even human hair the fascinating artist produces eerie yet inviting designs from her Melbourne base. Paying tribute to Victorian mourning jewellery and Memento Mori (reminder of our mortality) jewellery of the 15th-18th centuries, Julia’s work is identified by the use of symbols of death in her pieces (everything from skulls to the dead animals she taxidermies herself).
After a brief stint studying fashion and subsequently footwear, Julia studied gold and silversmithing and ultimately combined her jewellery design and taxidermy to establish her label DISCE MORI (Latin for Learn To Die). Deville, a name she concocted during a television interview a decade ago, now has a full range of jewellery — rings, bracelets, brooches, necklaces, cuff links, key fobs — as well as leather gloves and spats, and even exhibition pieces.
The result? Dark, sterile pieces with an obvious ‘goth’ feel.
“I incorporate the symbols of death throughout my work because I think it’s important to identify with the concept that we are in fact mortal creatures,” she explains. “The nature of our culture is to obsess over planning for the future, however, in doing so we forget to enjoy the present.”