In my creation, I still mainly use the technology of craft. Interview with Zixin Wei by Klimt02

Tell us about your background. What were your first influences to be creative and become an artist, and what has drawn you to contemporary jewellery?
I studied jewelry design and contemporary art jewelry creation from my undergraduate to my master's degree. During my master's degree, I studied in the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China, which had a great influence on me. It was also during this period that I created my own representative works. Since then, I have been very fond of contemporary jewelry, and have been engaged in related teaching in my own work.


How important is networking for you in your professional practice, and what are your preferred tools for this?
Although I am not good at promoting myself, I think communication on the Internet is very important. klimt02 is the website specializing in contemporary jewelry that I came into contact with earlier. Until now, most of the international information about contemporary jewelry is known through it. Now in addition to paying attention to the website, I pay more attention to the public account of China's WeChat, and the Chinese public account of klimt02 is also what I continue to pay attention to.


What are your general thoughts on the contemporary jewellery world (education, market, development...)? Where do you see chances, and where are dead ends?
As a contemporary jewelry artist educated in China, I observe that in the past 20 years, contemporary jewelry education has been paid attention to by more and more universities. However, in many cases, these students have not engaged in relevant work after graduation, and fewer of them can persist in creating contemporary jewelry works. There are market reasons as well as cultural reasons. But at the same time, I also see that in the past 10 years, those who stick to it can bravely stick to their favorite career, and this phenomenon is more and more.
 

Thinking about your career, what role do technology and the digital play in your artistic development & communication?
In my creation, I still mainly use the technology of craft and never use digital technology in my creation. In my opinion, the application of technology in art should vary from person to person. Not everyone is suitable for it, and there is no need to change to follow suit.


How has your work changed over the past few years?
In recent years, more and more people in China are learning contemporary jewelry from different majors, which means the background of jewelry creation is more diversified. More and more people start to pay attention to contemporary jewelry because of their love, rather than just because they have studied this major in college. This phenomenon was rare in China before, but now it is more and more common. I think contemporary jewelry will become more and more vibrant in China.