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septum

ostrich quill, 14k white gold

2023

in septum, sebastian hull repurposes the naturally sharp quill of the ostrich—collected in south africa—and mounts it in 14k white gold. the result is a series of intimate sculptural interventions that oscillate between adornment and defense, suggesting forms of both exposure and withdrawal.

worn through the nose, each piece activates the threshold between interiority and confrontation. the gesture is neither ornamental nor purely symbolic—it is anatomical, direct, and deliberately destabilizing. these works inhabit a charged liminal space: they function as boundaries made visible, as extensions of the psyche forged into minimalist weaponry.

septum emerges from a broader inquiry into the aesthetics of control and the architectures of self-preservation. the series channels states of psychic tension—where beauty becomes barrier, and simplicity becomes a strategy of concealment. the quill, unaltered in its natural sharpness, resists refinement. it is a readymade talon—delicate, but unwilling to soften.

rather than offering resolution, septum stages a paradox: an act of visibility that defends against being seen. in doing so, it renders identity not as a fixed truth, but as a volatile surface—negotiated at the edge between vulnerability and refusal.