Emotional Jewellery by Sara Chyan

Jewellery is an object that carries more than just an intrinsic significance, for it is not merely an ornament but also a medium for expressing one’s individuality.
In this project, I chose to use gallium and bismuth because I believe these two metallic materials possess symbolic attributes that can be employed to reflect the emotional state of the wearer. This is inspired by my obsession with heat, exploring the possibility of using temperature to assess one's emotional state.

Temperature plays a major role in my project. Changes in temperature can lead to changes in the physical forms of the chosen metal. This transition between solid and liquid phases caused by temperature gives metal an emotional character and transforms the metallic jewellery into an emotional symbol.

The application of gallium and bismuth is rarely seen in our day to day life. Their low melting points allow me to instill heat factor into my jewellery pieces. Gallium melts at 29.76°C, the shifting state of gallium is interesting, from solid to liquid and liquid to solid, incessantly react to the temperature. In contrast to gallium's low melting point, bismuth melts at 271.5°C, and the oxidation of bismuth is stunning, where colour can tell us the temperature.

Camera operator: Take Two Brothers
Director: Sara Chyan
Art Director: Chih-Yang Chen
Model: Maria Tropnikova
MUA: Emily Kim
Assistants: Yi-Peng Lee, Angela (Chien-Chia) Hou
Special thanks: Shelley Chien, Azure Zhang, Xiao Qi Liu

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Sara Chyan