Le Grand Jeu
The concept of the Le Grand Jeu Collection evolved from the search for the meaning and essence of femininity as such. At the same time, Janja Prokić contemplated the perception of women in Czech society. “I grew up among boys but I have also worn bold make up, high heels and girlish dresses since childhood,” she comments on the topic of her “Great Game” of jewellery. “Therefore I was later quite often bothered by the attitude of Czech men to treat women like friends from camp. I wanted women to employ their femininity again and stop feeling like it’s wrong and not emancipated enough,” she explains how the substance of the great game, women weapons and weapons for women was born.
There was my vision of a woman – beautiful with noble, elegant movements, clever and tender, and all jewels and artefacts created only for her. A set of furniture was designed to accompany the collection. There is a dressing table with mirror, so that she could get ready in her boudoir, a table with two chairs for playing draughts, the great game. My favourite imagination was related to a catapult. My heroine is sitting at the bar with her eyes seeking a man who would impress her. When she detects him among all other backs and foreheads, she acts. Instead of sending blatant signals to him by shallow twisting a strand of hair or having the waiter deliver him her phone number, she reaches in her suspender for a munition of small rubies and rose quartzes, the stones which open the heart chakra, and shoots.
The inspiration for the style of the collection was the turn of the 19th and 20th century with its mystics, artists and writers, with Georgem Ivanovic Gurdjieff, René Daumal, Roger Gilbert Lecomte, Sarah Bernhardt and the book on the language of flowers by Alfons Mucha foremost. Janja was influenced by contemporary female artists such as Sophie Calle, Marina Abramović, Louise Bourgeois, and the work of Clarissa Pinkola Estés.
The collection as such is based on the motives of the Law of Seven invented by the mystic Georg Gurdjieff. There are three flowers and a heavily stylized fox’s head.
- femininity
- woman
- weapon
- superhero
- erudition
- nobility
- beauty
- rubies
- silver
- leather
- fur
- wood – padauk
- silk
- pearls
- semi-‐precious stones: rubies
- rose quartzes
- smoky quartzes
- crystals
- amethysts
According to shamans, the fox is the only creature from the animal world which is able to reincarnate into a human without other people detecting it. Every night she reincarnates into a smart and intelligent woman. “My heroine also masters this art … and not only at night. The stylized fox’s head refers to Gurdjieff’s Law of Three and Seven. It is a complex of three triangles – the skull and two ears which together create seven endpoints,” says Janja, explaining the main motif. In tender contrast, the magnolia symbolises feminine delicacy, purity and fragility, strength and nobility all at once. Magnolias in Japanese mythology refer to femininity as a tree with deep and solid roots which resists much and, on the other hand, blooms with the most fragile white blossoms, which fall away even in the lightest breeze.
Mimosa means seven in numerology. It is a symbol of protection, love, cleansing and lucid dreams.
Sage means wisdom and immortality. It is the greatest plant of shamans who expel evil spirits and cleanse the energy of the body and space by burning it.
The whole collection is made of silver combined with wood, pearls and semi-°©‐precious stones – crystals, amethyst, ruby, smoky quartz and rose quartz.
Pearls symbolise femininity. A pearl polishes itself in contact with the human skin as if it were able to take in nutrients. According to the tradition, pearls worn by girls and young women are shinier and glitter more.
Crystal as a mineral is frequently used for healing. It intensifies energy and removes tension from the body. As a highly spiritual stone, it is a symbol of purification and it equips the mind with clairvoyance.
Amethyst opens the crown chakra and connects one with higher being and the universe. This stone which guards its carrier against negative energy is a symbol of protection. Therefore, and also for its purple colour, the stone adorns the rings of bishops of Christian churches.
Ruby is a symbol of sexual energy, love to oneself and others. It is a stone of blood. In the past, rulers adorned themselves with it. They believed that the mineral will darken in approaching danger.
Le Grand Jeu is a boudoir furnished with objects of the fictitious heroine – an educated, intelligent and charming woman. To her, objects are not vital. She acquired them out of caprice. She utilizes them at home and also elsewhere in contact with men. “She is Sarah Bernhardt, Sophie Calle, Marina Abramović, my godmother and to some extent any of us, actually. They are weapons for women and female weapons. Every artefact of the collection bears a distinct meaning – by its motif, choice of material or number of objects,” remarks Janja, opening up the path to her collection in full.
The collection was essential for the author, not only due to the enhancement of her craftsmanship and mastering jewellery techniques, but also for her inner, personal development.
- femininity
- woman
- weapon
- superhero
- erudition
- nobility
- beauty
- rubies
- silver
- leather
- fur
- wood – padauk
- silk
- pearls
- semi-‐precious stones: rubies
- rose quartzes
- smoky quartzes
- crystals
- amethysts
I am the queen of the night
And you may sleep undisturbed
In the shadows of wild dances.
My eyes are hunters,
They patrol your body as an orchard
Against the fingers of thieves.
Against dead forests,
With limbs cold as ice.
Against dreads and fears,
I’ll build a wall at your lips.
The moon on your forehead is faint
I roll a heavy stone from it.
I always kiss it last.
I rush like an eternal spring,
I water and vitalise you.
I cast a spell on you for all that love.
I trickle down onto you,
Not a pinch should die,
I drop in your mouth
Like water of life.
In your chest, stomach and legs.
And everything that I love about you
I’ll engage the midnight sky.
I can smell your scent
Before you enter the room.
I’ll aim my catapult
And you’ll fall into the deep.
Your wound is the purple of clouds.
So subtle.
I’ll heal it.
Wound and silence,
Holes of rubies,
I too want blame.
Losing your breath on the forehead,
You wake up scarred.
I’m flirting with your forehead,
Aiming a red rain of rubies at it.
My arm will run through your body
And cut down into the most secret depths. I will flow into all of you
And with me, every purple hue.