2nd SKIN Cork Jewellery

2nd SKIN Cork Jewellery project contributes to internationalizing a new image for cork.
The cork oak is a tree, native to the Mediterranean, with a strong symbolic presence in Portugal. Cork acts as a kind of consular service, like an ambassador for cross-border economic activities. Considering Portugal is one of the world’s top producers of cork, this material is like symbolic capital, generating international attention through production and its transformation.
Both the material itself and a few of the common products made from cork and associated activities express internal cohesiveness.
But identity based on cork in Portugal may be revitalized, achieving a new quality. We can foster a new image for cork based on the local material as it is harvested from the tree, or in the form of transformed products where cork is used in new ways thanks to technological solutions.
The involvement of jeweller-artists and designers can add even more value.
2nd SKIN Cork Jewellery project is based on a double meaning.
From an anthropological point of view, jewellery, being a second, temporary skin, is a social intermediary. It expresses identity and a person’s public image. Cork, a second skin from the cork oak, is the primary material used in this project to shape ideas.
The jewellery created in the 2nd SKIN project shows how these two senses, the social and the biological, can be related based on the interpretations of participants from different countries.

ESAD (Escola Superior de Artes e Design), Matosinhos, and DesignLocal, Santa Maria da Feira promoted and designed the 2nd SKIN Cork Jewellery project in Portugal.
The works of 28 participants are included in the travelling exhibition.