Metals have long been used for jewelry and body adornment. “Figural Apparatus,” an exhibition by artists Chloe Darke and Jennifer Crupi, presents work that applies metalsmithing techniques to examine the human body differently.

The exhibition challenges traditional approaches to metals while still engaging the human body, drawing on themes of fiction versus reality, misinformation and digital communication. 

Based in Virginia, Darke studied metalsmithing and jewelry at Maine College of Art and earned her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her work often resembles imagined or scientific tools.

“I do love jewelry, but what’s always really drawn me toward metalsmithing is the physical aspect of making,” Darke said. “It’s almost meditation and zenlike.”

Her objects are designed to resemble surgical instruments, specimen kits and lab apparatuses.

“I always want people to be questioning whether these pieces are totally based in reality or not,” Darke said. “I want them to feel a little creeped out.”

“I know, often, sometimes my work looks scary. … I know sometimes it freaks people out, but it does still get their attention. … I feel like if I made them think about their own body language or how it is an important means of communication, then I did my job.” –Jennifer Crupi,  Figural Apparatus exhibition co-artist

Her piece, “Inoculate,” features a needle and petri-dish colonies and was developed in early 2020.

“I’m working on this piece, and then we’re hearing whispers of, ‘Oh, this weird illness coming out of China, that’s probably not going to be a big deal,’ and so it was just really surreal to me,” Darke said. 

Another work, “Cordyceps Extraction Kit,“ imagines the idea of a parasitic fungus crossing from insects to humans.

“It can be disturbing to me how easily people fall for a story that’s completely made up,” Darke said. “I want people to question what is real (and) think more critically about what’s around them.”

Darke also turned her attention to reproductive healthcare. Her sculpture “Breed“ draws on Victorian gynecological instruments and IVF needles.

“I created (‘Breed’) in response to different kinds of conservative politicians who have said that women who are experiencing ectopic pregnancies shouldn’t get an abortion because you should be able to remove the embryo and reimplant it in the uterus — that’s impossible,” Darke said. “So I created this completely nonsensical tool to express my frustration but also to show that these people’s lives are at stake, and you can’t make up these fantasy procedures to suit your political agenda.”

Where Darke engages with the body through science and medicine, Crupi, in contrast, explores the body through psychology and gesture. Crupi, a professor at Kean University in New Jersey, earned her MFA from SUNY New Paltz and has exhibited internationally, with her work featured in the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. Her objects often focus on body language and nonverbal communication.

Crupi said her fascination with how jewelry interacts with the body inspired her work, leading her to explore the psychology of body language and focus on creating pieces that emphasize movement and connection.

This interest led Crupi to incorporate psychology and nonverbal communication into her pieces. During the pandemic, she developed a series about touch. Her instruments for gestural behavior sculptures are designed to prompt specific physical attitudes.

“We notice others’ (body language) more than we notice ourselves,” Crupi said. “So having that self-reflective element is my way to bring the viewer in.”

For Crupi, that tension is intentional. The strangeness of her work isn’t a flaw, but a way to spark dialogue and push viewers to reflect.

“I know, often, sometimes my work looks scary.” Crupi said. “I know sometimes it freaks people out, but it does still get their attention. … I feel like if I made them think about their own body language or how it is an important means of communication, then I did my job.”

Darke and Crupi noted similarities in their backgrounds.

“I mean, I’m so happy that they put us together because I feel like our work really bounces off of each other really well,” Darke said.

Crupi echoed similar sentiments, noting this exhibit was their first time meeting one another.

“Our presentations to the crowd were also our introductions to each other,” said Crupi. “And then through those, we found things in common.”

From those shared beginnings, the artists found common ground in how their fathers’ professions shaped their perspectives, leading both to pose overlapping questions about the body and its place in society.

“Who has authority over the body?” Darke said. “And are we right to give them that authority? Or is it something that needs to be challenged?”

Crupi shared that sense of questioning, framing her own practice as an effort to expand the role of jewelry beyond ornament.

“Part of my mission is to push the boundaries of what’s considered traditional jewelry,” Crupi said. “It’s more about making you think than pure adornment.”

“Figural Apparatus” is on display through Oct. 31, inviting visitors to see how both artists challenge metalsmithing traditions and ideas of the human body.

Reach Maci Lesh at entertainment@collegian.com or on social media  @RMCollegian.