"Cozticteocuilatl is the Aztec term for gold and it literally translates into 'the yellow feces of the gods,' " says Swiss artist Otto Kunzli, who is standing before his work at the Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum. "It's the yellow poops of the gods," he emphasizes as he breaks into a broad smile.
Now laughing, he continues: "It's so beautiful. They found gold nuggets in the river and thought, oh this must come from the gods. The gods were pooping yellow s—-. That's crazy. I mean, I know s—- happens, but I didn't know that it fell from heaven."
"Otto Kunzli: The Exhibition" brings together close to 200 works that span Kunzli's 25+ year career as a jewelry artist. The gold and oxidized-silver pendants of his "Cozticteocuitlatl" (1998) take their forms from extensive research into the shape of Mickey Mouse, which Kunzli says he began because he felt sure the silhouette existed "long before the Disney thing." The pendants include shapes inspired by pre-Columbian jewelry, a modern wing nut, even the McDonald's golden arches.