How do i feel about contemporary jewellery

I honestly don’t know, I knew what is was. My initial understanding of contemporary jewellery was jewellery that was addressing a current issue, but it is a broad spectrum of definitions that is constantly in a state of expansion and change. Expressing meaning and ideas whether worn or not, sparking intrigue and question.

Sol LeWitt says “Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists they leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach” [1.]

I have found contemporary jewellery to be more a story, being written as you go along. As much as I can think about where I’m headed I never really know where I’m going, a vague idea “somewhere that way,” but I try to embracing the uncertainty, try to think optimistically. Creating contemporary work has become more about the journey rather than the destination, being able to find the treasures within the journey, in other words it’s not about the product but the process. It’s a lovely mixture of faith, science, questioning and understanding.

I am quiet the lazy kind, to put it in intelligible terms, I want to achieve maximum effect with minimal effort. I think a lot and read a lot more than I physically do, but eventually I always start somewhere at some point. Everything starts at a point, this is how the universe came into being: “There was no heaven, no earth, and no universe – just empty space. In this vastness, a single point manifested itself. From that point steam, smoke and mist spiraled in a luminous sphere and the sacred sound Su was born.”[2] I feel like that point in that emptiness but it is from this point that I hope to flourish.

1. Sol leWitt, "Sentences on conceptual art."(1969) Art language, Vol 1, no1

2. Morihei Ueshiba, "Art of peace"(2002)

Looking back at Thuthuka

20 February 2018

A thought…

There are so many places my mind wanders that I draw inspiration from. My fascinations always bring back to the ancient world. The civilizations of before continuously fascinate me, perhaps it’s my human nature of seeking an origin. However the past is muddled up with history. Information passed down through the ages and altered as people saw fit.

One of the reason the ancient world fascinates me is because of the immense people belief people had to create these structures. Take the Pyramids for instance some mainstream history has you believe these are just monuments created as a final resting place for kings, one of the theories I believe that it was used to help transmit or create a form of electricity or energy. 

Belief is extremely powerful, they make up the world, in a very real sense they are the world, it’s something that lies at the core of our mindset, and lies within every culture and idea.

Thuthuka; looking back on origins

For Thuthuka I had looked back at the different cultures that I grew up with. As a child these are crucial years in your early development, some things that happen to you as a child tend to stay with well into your life.

Islam had its prominence as the religion I would be raised by, my mother was Tamil and converted to Islam after she married my dad, however my parents were not very religious but their belief in a God was very much there.  They were progressive for their time and community, and never stopped me from questioning and exploring.

There are few instances where I remember a clash in faiths.. It was these small instances that started leading me to question religion and other cultures around me. Why couldn’t people of different faiths respect each other?

I had initially tried depicting this division, two faiths joined together yet still apart.  I had focused so much on the division that I hadn’t looked at what ties them together. In a way this is also what is wrong with people, we’re so focused on emphasizing our differences, we forget the things that bring us together. I found that Mosques and Temples used sacred geometry in their design, this lead me to look more at what ties together than breaks apart.

                                                                     Pieces I created for Thuthuka

Sterling Silver and Resin Earrings

Ceramic Incense holders

Jewellex Earrings: Retro

Retro

What is retro?
According to quick google search it is style or fashion imitative of the recent past.

However the recent past is big place, but my love of That 70's Show, instantly takes me to the time of flower power, disco dancing, oversized hoop earrings and bright, bold colours.

Seasonal colours that were popular around the 70's

The concept

My B-Tech proposal started with sacred geometry and the pieces I created in 3rd year. I thought I was looking at sacred geometric patterns but I realised I had looked more at naturally forming geometric patterns, like the spirals of shells.

These patterns, forms and ratios become sacred because we attribute religious and sacred meaning to it. I feel that the essence of sacred geometry has been dulled in a sense, in becoming a mainstream idea people appreciate it for the surface value of the patterns rather that deeper meanings and information it holds.

I would like to use these same patterns and ratios to design pieces with a sense of balance, a reflection of what I hope to feel in this world.

                 Some of my 3rd Year work

Flower of life earrings, sterling silver

Enamel Pendant 

Sculpted Ceramic insence holders

Resin and sterling silver earrings, inspired by decorative Arabic lanterns