Jizhi Gigi Li. Academy of Art University. New Graduates 2015

Academy of Art University, San Francisco, USA.
 
Jizhi "Gigi" Li - Perfectly Imperfect
I make wearable jewelry and sculptural objects based on my concept of the “perfectly imperfect”. Body ornamentation is often used to distract attention from the imperfections and flaws in our bodies. When I was 17, I became paralyzed for a short period of time. The temporary paralysis of my legs left me with an incomplete body, and this unpleasant experience made me think about the fuzzy boundary between perfection and imperfection. I was broken, yet I still had intrinsic value. Since then, I have often felt that people judge themselves harshly because of their physical defects. Such damaged ego drives people to overly decorate themselves. I use body ornamentation to express and highlight such phenomena.
 
My graduate thesis pieces are inspired by picture frames and ornamental objects. The narrative forms trigger me to use various media, such as different metals, porcelain, cement, and other diverse materials in order to convey various emotions. My current series consists of fragments using traditional ornate frames. The artistic intention is to frame parts of the body to redecorate their imperfections. To challenge the wearability of classic jewelry, my pieces are wearable, but only on unusual parts of the body. I place a particular emphasis on the body’s flaws, thereby showing the individuality and unique life story of the viewers.
 
To me, ornamentation is an expression of awareness of imperfections. My concept rejects the traditional ornamental role of jewelry. Picture frames on the body represent embellishments and perfection. The wearer is imperfect. By framing a part of the body, there is a sense of dark humor and irony, unpleasant and painful, which twists the traditional sense of jewelry.


Obsession and addiction to personal and cultural ideals of beauty are presented with absolute probity and elegance in Jizhi Gigi Li’s thesis “Perfectly Imperfect.”
 Based on deep and thoughtful acceptance of painful personal experience, Gigi’s thesis creates a narrative thread that raises questions about the blurred struggle between unwanted attention and the premium placed on desired attention. Then, upon deeper investigation, this deceptively beautiful body of work also presents how, hand in hand, the initial questions give rise to the nettling fear of rejection determined by one’s appearance.  Lastly, it poignantly asks exactly what is it that determines the “ideal,” what influences inform the responses to this question, and how does one turn one’s back and escape to find one’s unique and personal answers. / Charlene Modena, Director School of Jewelry and Metal Arts, June 2015


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