Preziosa Young 2015. Florence Jewellery Week

Artist list

Han Sang Deok, Daniela Hedman, Tithi Kutchamuch, Seoyeon Lee, Jie Sun

Daniela Hedman
“My work is based on a fundamental interest for the body. With that as a starting point, I examine the body's impact on the human psyche and well-being. The body's encounter with different surfaces, materials and shapes are experiences that I investigate and highlight from a physical, psychological and symbolic perspective”
 
Jie Sun
“As a contemporary designer, in other words I would say as a person who is engaged in the creative field, I have always the ambition to explore the different roles of a designer nowadays, looking for ideas, forms, values and symbols that play importance in our society. I try to grasp the meaning and the paradoxes they contain, to analyse them and present them in a way that unveils the society where they originally sprang from. In what ways do differences in history, culture and society affect and transform contemporary jewellery and design? How innovation can be interpreted not just as the radical search for new materials and new technologies, but above all as the incremental analysis of new values and new contents, thereby conferring a new epistemological status to contemporary jewellery? Those questions are always central to my statement and practice.
 
Culture has always an important position in my work, either eastern or western. I am obsessed with historic and cultural ideas and form, and tend to translate them into my objects that are meant for similar understanding in a new way. By adjusting and reusing recognizable contemporary objects and shapes, new objects, concepts, sculptures and artifacts are brought into existence. But I also refer to historical objects and materials. By constantly experimenting with material and traditional craft, I come to new results by which my object often gains an even more unexpected and not recognizable appearance. A remarkable aspect of this method is the transformation of relatively normal materials (e.g. wood sheet) into visually new ones, which immediately evoke connotations, the 'unexpected' plays an important role. During the process of making I have incomplete control over the outcome. The function of the outcome is jewellery, but the value is its narrative, conceptual and sculptural quality. When the outcome is jewellery without function of ‘wearable object’, it turns into a still life, it goes from being a usable object to an object of representation. All genres may be said to be holders of meaning: repositories or systems in which it is possible to communicate thoughts, seek to influence that can give rise to new and unexpected meanings for the contemporary society.
 
Since 2012 to early of 2014, I have created a number of extensive series. The latest two collections “Face to Face” and “Camouflage” have been regarded under one project titled “Translation” between local culture and material on contemporary jewellery, which could be seen as a part of research made in the field of practice-based research. It investigates the relationship of the Chinese traditional philosophy and traditional crafts with a process of making. The work seeks ways in which traditional culture can be utilized as a source of artistic inspiration for contemporary jewellery. In this project, I used fieldwork with participant observation – a method used in cultural anthropology and ethnography – to study traditional Chinese lacquer craft, which has become a highly artistic craft since the Shang Dynasty (ca.1600–1046BC) in China that cannot be found in any literature or archives. I sincerely believe in the potential to transform contemporary design. You can only reach extraordinary results when you are able to revitalize and update the arts, crafts and the materials with contemporary concepts and aesthetics. I am determined to play my role in this transformation and push the boundaries between art and design into jewellery practice.”
 
 Sang Deok Han
Caged nature from unexpected possibility of material
“To exposure the expressive potential of the material as a part of jewelry, I deal with the materials chosen at first sight by means of accidental effect to inspire creative shape of the material. Cutting diagonally the small sculpture for interesting shape of cross section or repetitive carving the surface of wood unconsciously to daub the surface of wood with blade scars which can be seen rolling waves distorts the real contour.
 
More over the material which is not substantial and perishable to be the medium of jewelry can also be a good source to create the new adornment. A specific shaped statue made by changeable material is easily twisted and had many split ends during seasoning by temperature and humidity therefore it would become distorted statue which is different from original state. Distorted sweet potato statue, precisely fabricated iron box which has rusted spot, and faded and peeled alum crystal suggest the new possibilities of expression.
 
With the fruits from unexpected territory, I compose it to precisely made parts, especially brooch pin or necklace clasps, which are related to pragmatic function, to make the works more dramatic. The contrary correlation between chaos and order means the conflict between newness and conventions. So I have tried to combine mature fruits from natural principle with traditional strict skills to get together in order to heighten the tension. Developing the expressive possibilities of the material by principle of nature and figuring them out with artificial parts may seem like the relationship of nature and human. As splitting the sour mature orange, the jewelry from a surprise gives a tingle of excitement as well as satisfaction of aesthetic requirements
 
In terms of narration, on the other hand, the works named allegorically are the representation of the correlation between human and nature. We share the Earth with various living things but yet we do not share equality. They are castrated and manipulated as domesticated livestock in an agricultural setting as commodities. The ten works depict stuffed and appreciated natural being by artificial factors, which refer to anthropocentric ethics. The body cut and distorted genetically, thus be remained into small pieces, is stick to grey colored structures which consist of rusted oxidized iron revealing scratched surface which refers to transient desire of industrial society in the iron age.”
 
Seoyeon Lee
“I have explored the duality of femininity for some time. I consider the widely accepted idea of women is not the ultimate reality as it is seen. Therefore, the main focus of my work was to illustrate the light and darker aspects of femininity.
 
Based on the above experimental methods, my work represents the form of the flower as a symbol of femininity, which is further expressed by the array of colors to represent duality of femininity.”
 
Tithi Kutchamuch
Travels with my spoon
“Since "Reincarnation" (2008-2009) I've collected disposable spoons from everywhere I visit in the world.
 
I heated up these spoons, altering their shapes and using them to replace the wax in lost-wax casting* process.
 
By transforming them using precious metals the integrity of the spoon is re-written, its new life is born. This way the object that could be considered trash becomes valuable forever; disposable becomes collectable: the mass produced becomes a unique one-off.”
 
*Lost-wax casting is a process through which wax models are immersed in plaster, the wax is then burnt out and molten metal is poured into the resulting cavity.