SINGAPORE—Academy Award-winning actress Alicia Vikander graced the opening of Bulgari Serpenti Form exhibition at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands Wednesday.
The art, jewelry and design exhibition opened to the public Aug. 19 and will run through Oct. 15.
Vikander, 28, acclaimed star of “Ex Machina” who won the Oscar for best actress in a supporting role for “The Danish Girl” in 2015, appeared at the exhibit press conference here with Bulgari CEO Jean Christophe Babin. It was the Swedish actress’ first visit to Singapore.
Serpenti Form, which explores the snake as a design inspiration, features over 150 pieces of antiquities, vintage costumes from theater and cinema, contemporary art by prominent artists, and Bulgari Serpenti high jewelry. It’s three times bigger than the debut installment in Rome in 2016.
The Singapore exhibit is its first stop outside of Italy. It will also be shown in Tokyo in November. Bulgari brand and heritage curator Lucia Boscaini of the maison’s brand heritage department curated it.
The serpent has been a longstanding symbol of Bulgari, spawning one of its most iconic lines, the Serpenti, which has been interpreted in watches, jewelry, leather goods and other accessories since the 1940s.
Asked by Babin what the snake evoked in Vikander, she replied, “As an actress, I love the fact that the snake represents the shape-shifting symbol, which is something that I relate to very much, the willingness to reinvent oneself. I love that it symbolizes rebirth and creating different versions of yourself. I love how your jewelry defines different kinds of women.”
At the after-party, Vikander, a former dancer, let loose on the dance floor with Babin and other guests.
Apart from high jewelry Serpenti pieces from the maison’s heritage collection, the exhibit also features artworks by the likes of Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Keith Haring, Niki de Saint Phalle, Joana Vasconcelos, Heri Dono, and photography masters Robert Mapplethorpe and Helmut Newton.
There are also vintage costumes from as early as the 1920s.
Bulgari also created one-off high jewelry just for the Singapore show, including a Serpenti platinum necklace with chalcedony, diamonds and rubies, and a two-headed Serpenti bracelet watch of pink gold and diamonds.
