In Terms Of Contemporary Jewellery, I See a Growing Market. Taibe Palacios interviewed 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 am a visual artist. At the beginning of my professional life, I was an author and an illustrator of children´s books and making jewellery as well. As my process turned more experimental, naturally evolved contemporary jewellery, becoming my main interest and motivation.

Although being Latinoamerican and a political refugee as a child had a big influence in my life, I believe that being creative has always been part of me. Through years of practice, learning and experimenting my work has developed into a visual expression or artistic language, but the sensitivity to see the world has always been there.


What are your general thoughts on the contemporary jewellery world, (education, market, development...), where do you see chances and where are dead ends?
The world is changing fast, new paradigms for humankind are approaching, which will be reflected in the artists’ vision and therefore their work. During this quarantine, I have been thinking more about our roles in those changes, particularly the social movements rising up around the world.

I hope that change will also bring upon more appreciation from society to the contribution of artists to humankind.

In terms of contemporary jewellery, I see a growing market, as I believe that climate change is influencing the customer’s choice. People are more informed and in the near future will prefer art jewellery, often made of alternative materials, such as recyclables or environmentally friendly ones, rather than traditional jewellery, because of the exploitation of natural resources involved in the process.



Necklace: Red Velvet, 2019, Seaweed, ink, lacquer, oleum, resin, steel, 35 x 5 x 43 cm, Photo by: Ornamenta Studio


How has your work changed over the past few years and what are you excited about these days?
My life has changed significantly during the last years, and my work consecutively has changed aligned with it. Although working with seaweed has been challenging in terms of the technical aspect of it, I am looking forward to seeing how the creative process will unfold and how my work will evolve and turn into. These days I am excited about making sculptures in smaller scales such as jewellery, and also making larger sculptures such as wall pieces or objects.