Moss Mark by Yi Zhao

中文版 - Chinese version      

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Yi Zhao

Our encounter happened at Yi Zhao’s workplace --- Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. She wore a necklace of her own design in front of her chest. The little pendant, which should have been worn for a long time, was well blended with her entire temperament. She didn’t give me any sense of distance and began to talk to me naturally. I felt like being together with a teacher from the studio of my own university, familiar and comfortable. She took out her designs in recent years and laid them out on a big table one by one. I was touched by those gorgeous jewelries immediately. Sometimes as a viewer, we may not understand the underlying meaning behind a work, but when we see it and touch it, we can easily perceive the call of certain emotions and fall captivated by the charm of this creation. Yi Zhao’s jewelries are definitely such works.

As a mother of two young girls, Yi Zhao spent most of her time out of teaching to accompany her children. For the remaining time, she spared to jewelry design. She has made these scattered but precious time fragments into a great abundance of metal pieces and painted wooden blocks. Connecting them together would be able to outline the trajectory of her life in recent years. We all feel that it is time to host an exhibition to unveil these elegant works to the public.

The exhibition this time is entitled Moss Mark, that is, the mark of moss blooming.

In 2016, Yi Zhao had a contact with the Chinese lacquer technique by chance. Her earlier works were mainly based on metalworking, and she was not really proficient in the use of colors. She said that it was quite difficult to control the color of paint, because the paint could breathe, and only if both the temperature and humidity were appropriate, it might show you some colors. You had to pay it loyalty and patience for months and even years in exchange to see its best appearance. The characteristic of the slowness of lacquer coincides with her own quality, so she began experimenting on the lacquer technique ever since then, and her works gradually exhibited the traces of colors. She likes to use black wood as the base of design and attaches it with lacquer after molding. She deliberately chooses old materials and applies coarse processing techniques for creation, so that the texture of lacquer does not appear dazzling or over smooth. She is fond of this kind of gentle and calm look very much, as the timeworn appearance conveys a special sense of memory:
Sometimes, I am occupied by memories of my childhood drifting in the sea; sometimes, I am occupied by the cabinets and chairs that had been moldy and used for many years in my old house. The trace left over after the original appearance faded out is the best proof of the connection between objects and me. This coincides with the reason why I spent so much time to polish them --- to elucidate the weather-beaten look of the time.
Sometimes, I would think that these jewelries might always have this "old" look, because they were never "new" from the beginning. But also because of wearing, they are constantly nurtured by human’s life and acquiring some new senses of beauty and affection, so that the painted colors become long-lasting.
/ Yi Zhao

Between 2016 and 2017, Zhao Yi created 11 pieces of lacquer ebony necklaces. Then in 2018, she designed another 20 pairs of lacquer ebony earrings. Throughout these three years, she had been deeply obsessed with lacquer for its unique experience in color and creation and unlimited possibilities between paint and wood. In the process of surface coloring, she could observe the whole course from solidification, discoloring, grinding to brightening step by step, and eventually witness the formation of a final work that can be worn, that can satisfy both of her inner spiritual and outer decoration needs. She said this was perfect practice.

The kernel of my daily life seems to be raising jewelry and raising children. The coexistence of these two life forms has made me fully occupied. For my own sake, the attempt to find a balance between them has taught me to be uncompromising and decisive. Every kind of dedication and feedback behind this balance is different. All I can do is to act each of my life roles and love both of them with my best effort.
/Yi Zhao

In this era, material consumption has become easier and faster, and once an object is bought, it may evolve into a sort of spiritual nourishment. Through display, inheritance, giving, use and play, people’s emotions are gradually attached to these objects. As time goes by, durable things will carry a lot of stories and memories, and leave over traces of life at the same time. If an object is alive, it must have a lot of words to tell you, and this is what jewelry resembles --- a weather-beaten companion by your side.

I always hope that my jewelries have more words to tell. They should not simply respond to the context of the present, but also try to find the right owners in the past and in the future. For me, I often fantasize about how they will look like when Qingche and Tonger wear them one day in the future.
/ Yi Zhao

Since entering the university in 1995, Zhao Yi has been in contact with jewelry for over two decades. From a learner to a teacher, until marrying with another jewelry creator, her whole life has been bonded with jewelry. When her little daughter Tonger was only two years old, she had already known to remind her mother to wear jewelry before going out, don’t forget to wear jewelry... How impressed! It seems that jewelry has become an indispensable part for the girls in this family to see the world.

I am sincerely honored to have the opportunity to invite Yi Zhao to participate in The Small Jewelry Exhibition. If my memory is right, she should be the artist delivering the largest number of exhibits so far. In addition to the quantity, every piece of her works, from necklaces to earrings, is so unique with completely different eye-catching details. The smart processing techniques used in the designs can perfectly reflect the solid design foundation of the artist. I am sorry that I can't present all the jewelry works in this preview. We welcome you to appreciate more exciting jewelries at the exhibition.