A very long time ago, there used to be a lush, fertile plain that extended east from Palermo. It stretched along the northern coastline and reached back to the mountains embracing the city and its hinterlands like an amphitheater of sorts. This lush plain grew the Island’s citrus. Imagine the most beautiful landscape dotted with citrus grove after citrus grove after citrus grove. It was called Conca d’oro, “golden basin.” The materials for this necklace were found in two places: in New Orleans (where I was doing research in a Sicilian American archive) and in New York City (where I've been purchasing precious metal findings from the same lady for many years).
50cm / 20 in. necklace length
3 x 5cm / 1.25 x 2 in. lemon pendant
Venetian glass lemon
Vintage glass beads
Sterling silver clasp
Yellow silk thread
The images were created in collaboration with Dr. Lauren Taylor Hudson, a geography professor, writer, and organizer. We journeyed through Italian New York and made these images in front of a pastry shop on Arthur Avenue in Little Italy in the Bronx.