Anastasia Young

Bio

Anastasia Young is a London-based jewellery artist, author and lecturer, whose work has been exhibited internationally. She is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins College, where she lectures and teaches short courses in jewellery making. Having written three technical jewellery books (Thames & Hudson, A&C Black) which have been translated into seven languages, Anastasia Young is well known as an educator, through her teaching and writing. She also sits on the board of The Association for Contemporary Jewellery, which promotes contemporary jewellery in the UK.

Statement

Young’s eclectic jewellery is often project-based and driven by a combination of ideas and technical investigation; she uses narrative to explore both the design of a piece and its display when not being worn. The use of materials is an important consideration for her—found objects and repurposed materials are included for their meanings and aesthetic qualities, but Young’s fine jewellery also explores notions of repurposing as the precious metal elements she uses are often cast directly from plastic components from broken cassette players and cameras. Most recently, she has been working with symbolism and the interpretation of devotional devices as a means of narrative exploration through the juxtaposition of objects—some handmade, some found. Examples of her work are held in the permanent collections of the Science Museum, London and Central Saint Martins Museum.


I am intrigued by the narratives which are conveyed by function and the ways in which an object describes this function by its form, but my pieces are often subversive because they do not function in an expected manner, often reduced to decorative curiosities. I will usually allow the components which are used in a piece to dictate the specific ways in which they relate to each other; juxtaposed figurative elements will naturally illustrate a narrative by their inherent aesthetics and cultural significance.

CV      

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