Alexandra Sherger

Alexandra Scherger

“Marie’s Jewelry Box”

Mixed media

I wanted to bring back the theme of cake and cake sculptures that I developed last year and put them into the context of time and place. My work focusses on 17th   Century France, the revolution and royalty, specifically the last Queen of France, Marie Antoinette who was famously beheaded. I have always been intrigued by her life and her place in modern pop culture, how she is still important today.  She lived a life of high indulgence, scandal and abused her power as queen and was ignorant to the on-going revolution and the concerns of her people. She lived as neither a royaln or a peasant, but more like a rock star. She was incorrectly associated with the phrase “let them eat cake” in ignorance of the poor. The cakes and crowns represent a comical take on a historical and serious topic, and also her extravagant lifestyle and how it ironically caused her tragic end.  The cake choker necklaces are specifically symbolic as they highlight the neck area pointing to her manner of death by beheading.