Interview with Sophie Bélanger around the exhibition The Unspoken during the Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER 2026

Maja Bielakowicz: The title of your exhibition, The Unspoken, refers to emotions and experiences we keep hidden out of modesty, fear, or simply because words seem insufficient. Do you see this exhibition primarily as an invitation to engage in dialogue with others, or as a conversation with oneself?

Sophie Bélanger: This exhibition is, above all, an invitation to dialogue. Throughout our lives, we all carry unspoken thoughts, secrets, and emotions sometimes out of fear, shame, or simply because we cannot find the right words. This project taught me that by revealing some of my own unspoken truths, I create a safe space where others feel comfortable sharing theirs. I have received incredibly moving stories, as well as an overwhelming amount of kindness and support. It reminded me that we are far less alone than we think. Behind different stories, we often share the same emotions. I hope this exhibition becomes more than something people simply look at. I hope it becomes a place where visitors feel heard, understood, and perhaps just a little less alone.


You have said that language is sometimes inadequate to express what we truly feel. Is that what drew you to jewellery as your artistic medium — its ability to communicate what words cannot?
What fascinates me about jewelry is its unique language. Unlike a work hanging on a wall, jewelry is worn on the body. It becomes part of the person who wears it. When someone chooses to wear a piece of jewelry, they also choose to carry part of its message. In my work, a piece is not just an object; it carries a story, an emotion, or sometimes a secret. The weight of the jewelry becomes a metaphor for the emotional weight we all carry. I love the idea that the body is not just a support, but an essential part of the artwork itself.


Your work demonstrates how contemporary jewellery has evolved far beyond decoration, becoming a powerful medium for artistic expression and social reflection. How did your journey into jewellery begin, and what convinced you that it was the right language for your ideas?
I am a trained jeweller. I spent nearly sixteen years creating high-end jewelry, where I developed strong technical skills and craftsmanship. When I discovered contemporary jewelry, I felt as though a new world had opened before me. I realized that jewelry could become a language where materials, forms, and the body all contribute to telling a story. Today, contemporary jewelry is one of the most meaningful ways for me to communicate. I finally found an artistic language where technique serves emotion.


Your pieces combine soft wool with glass, pearls, precious metals and beads, creating a dialogue between warmth and fragility, softness and tension. What draws you to these particular materials, and how do you work with them?
Working with wool came naturally. Since childhood, I have had a very personal relationship with this material. My grandmother taught me how to knit when I was eight years old, and those moments remain among my most precious memories. 
For me, wool represents comfort, warmth, and protection. Glass, beads, and metal enrich the work by adding texture, contrast, and tension. I also like my pieces to have a physical presence. Their weight reflects the emotional weight of the stories we carry.


Colour also plays a subtle but important role in your work. How do you approach colour, and what does it communicate?
A few years ago, I discovered that I have synesthesia. I naturally perceive music as colours. Because of this, colour is never simply decorative. It is connected to sound, emotion, and sensation. Colour becomes another language through which I express what words sometimes cannot.


When creating a piece, do you think primarily about the narrative it carries, or about the physical experience of wearing it — its weight, texture, movement and relationship with the body?
For me, the two are inseparable. I think about every detail: the form, the materials, the weight, the colours, the textures, and the way the piece interacts with the body. That is why each artwork takes many hours to create. I do not believe in doing things halfway. An artwork should not only be seen; it should be experienced.


Your work addresses sensitive yet very important subjects, including sexual violence, body image, identity, eating disorders and self-acceptance. Do you feel these issues are still not discussed openly enough? Can contemporary jewellery create a space where such conversations become possible?
Absolutely.
The subjects I explore are often surrounded by prejudice and taboo. People are first attracted by the beauty or the unusual appearance of the work. Then, as they discover its meaning, a conversation begins naturally. If my work can help break a taboo or encourage a compassionate conversation, then I feel it has fulfilled its purpose.
 

Much of your practice explores the acceptance of one's body and identity. Can wearing jewellery become a form of personal statement or even a public declaration of who we are?
Absolutely.
When someone chooses to wear jewelry that reflects part of their story, they are making a statement. To me, revealing an unspoken truth is like carrying a flag in the middle of a crowd. It is an act of freedom, self-acceptance, and sometimes even liberation. Jewelry does not speak instead of the wearer; it can simply give them the courage to be seen for who they truly are.


Do visitors ever share their own personal stories with you after seeing your work? If so, do those encounters influence your future practice?
Yes, very often.
Throughout this project, I received deeply moving testimonies from people who trusted me with very personal stories. This is the project in which I have felt the most deeply connected to other people. Those encounters have brought me great comfort and will undoubtedly influence my future artistic journey. They inspire me to continue creating work that opens dialogue and gives a voice to what too often remains unspoken.


The Unspoken exhibition was a part of the Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER. What were your impressions of the festival, and what made this experience stand out for you?
Participating in the SILVER Festival in Legnica, Poland, was the experience of a lifetime. There, I presented the most significant collection of contemporary jewelry I have created to date. I poured my whole heart, all my energy, and a huge part of myself into it.

What struck me most was the extraordinary welcome I received. My work was understood, respected, and embraced with a generosity that deeply moved me. Beyond the exhibition, I had unforgettable personal encounters. I felt as though I’d discovered a second family, surrounded by people of incredible warmth and kindness who were there for me from start to finish.

I came back from this experience transformed, with the feeling that I’d lived through a unique moment, both artistically and personally.


Is there one piece in this exhibition that feels particularly significant to you? What story does it tell?
Yes.
The most important piece for me is the large necklace that rises over the face and becomes a mask. For many years, I hid behind that symbolic mask because I was afraid of being judged. Masks can feel comforting. They protect us, conceal our wounds, and make us feel safe.

Creating this piece allowed me to transform that mask into an artwork. It speaks about two deeply personal unspoken truths: the sexual assault I experienced at the age of fifteen and my bisexuality. Choosing to share these parts of my life through my work is one of the bravest things I have ever done. It taught me that vulnerability can become a source of strength. I hope this piece will encourage others to open up, to feel less alone, and to realize that they do not have to wear their mask forever.
 

About the Interviewee

Sophie Bélanger, born in 1979 in Quebec (Canada), works under the artistic pseudonym SOFI. In 2001, she graduated in Art & Design in the field of arts and crafts. She worked in jewellery shops while simultaneously pursuing drawing and painting. Over time, she developed a distinctive visual language rooted in street art and socially engaged practices.
In 2016, she joined Filière 11, a collective of artists working in the field of contemporary jewellery, which became her primary medium for telling her own story. She creates objects full of lightness, colour, and imagination; beneath their surface, however, lies the complex experience of motherhood—being a caregiver to a son affected by a rare neurodegenerative disease. Her work addresses political themes (every presence in the world is political), as well as questions of happiness, the experience of everyday struggles, and grief. Her voice – SOFI’s jewellery as a form of manifesto – has been presented in numerous group exhibitions across Europe and Canada.
 

About the author

Maja Bielakowicz. Public Relations Specialist at the Gallery of Art in Legnica since 2019, where she also organizes and coordinates exhibitions presented as part of the Legnica Jewellery Festival SILVER. She holds an M.A. in Journalism and Social Communication and a B.A. in European Studies from the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Poland). She also completed postgraduate studies in Jewellery Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, reflecting her interest in contemporary jewellery and art alongside her professional expertise in communication.