JEWELRY IS A BRIDGE

CONNECTING US TO ...

SMCK MAGAZINE CATALOGUE - PART II

Ornaments with distinctive motifs, designs, or materials, seal rites of passage, such as engagement, wedding, baptism, communion, mourning, circumcision, childbirth, new year's celebrations, or change of standing or social role etc.

In tombs and altars, archaeologists find jewelry, offerings and identity symbols, proving that adornment accompanies faith and death. Even today, in Christian Greece, believers adorn icons of the Madonna with silver and golden votives or even their own jewelry to ask that they be granted a favor.

Many contemporary jewelry artists focus on memories: an immaterial, vague, personal, non transmittable concept - yet a valuable force connecting us with our past. In times of constant movement and 24/7 globalized performance, memories become the anchor that force us to stop and reflect, the resistance against the mainstream, and a rephrasing of Memento mori in our old-age-decline-and-death-averse times.

Works by:

Hye Antiques • Xiangzhi Zhao • Eva Fernandez • Legnica SILVER Festival / Stephanie Hensle • Loukia Richards • Christoph Ziegler • Anna Liu • Galerie Schmucke / Ketli Tiitsar • Baiyu Qu • Liubov Klivitkina • Chien Yu Liu.

Stephanie Hensle, "Lifetime Classic", jewelry kit, 2014. Silver 925, gold plated, fashion jewellery, zircon, false pearls, steel. Courtesy of Gallery of Art, Legnica. Photo: J. Malinowski (G-M Studio).


LEGNICA SILVER FESTIVAL / STEPHANIE HENSLE

The Legnica Jewelry Festival SILVER 2024 presents established and emerging artists and highlights ongoing debates inside the international jewelry community. EMPATHY, the nominees' show, following the 2024 International Jewelry Competition, is one of the major events of this year's festival.


www.silver.legnica.eu   |   www.stephaniehensle.com

"Ordinary Treasure", 3 brooch set, 2021. Silver. Photo: Xiangzhi Zhao.


XIANGZHI ZHAO

"The probability to meet a Padparadscha, a rare orange colored, large sapphire, is one to thirty, and the probability to meet a large bubble on the sponge during dishwashing is also one to thirty. But most people take for granted that Padparadscha is a noble gem that deserves their attention, while the big bubble on the sponge is not worth mentioning.

I cherish these rare and ordinary bubbles and cut their photos into gem shapes and inlay them on a brooch, because some ordinary memories that we cannot tag, are worth remembering."


www.zhaoxzdesign.com   |   @xiangzhi_design

Tasak, Armenian headdress, 1870s. Nickel, silver, inset corals. Photo: Arto Tavukciyan.


HYE ANTIQUES

Armenian Headdress with the ancient 6-pointed star and original inset corals. Tasak was part of an elaborate headdress worn by women for special occasions such as weddings. Hand-crafted. 1870s.
The Armenian plateau, rich in ores, was one of the first places to practice metallurgy. Throughout history Armenians have been master metalworkers and jewelers.

The mission of Arto Tavukciyan, the founder of Hye Antiques, has been to acquire valuable artifacts left behind by Armenians as they fled the Ottoman Empire in 1915, and to repatriate these items from Turkey and around the world. Collecting Armenian rugs and kilims, embroideries, ceramics, metalworks and jewelry is Tavukciyan's personal way of affirming: "we were there".


www.hyeantiques.com   |   @hye_antiques

"Je Suis Charlie", pectoral ornament, 2015. Embroidery on textile, weaving, sewing. Photo: Christoph Ziegler.


LOUKIA RICHARDS

"The dirty girls embroideries on the pectoral ornament Je suis Charlie are a homage to political cartoonist Georges Wolinski who was murdered, together with his colleagues, by Islamist terrorists at the premises of Charlie Hebdo in Paris on 7 January 2015. Wolinski sketched similar figures; he had a reputation for being 'politically incorrect' and had a highly subversive-iconoclastic sense of humor.

The West is founded on the concept of the face, a symbol of free will and self-determination. Islamist terror is founded on totalitarianism. On 7 January 2015 I mourned the death of freedom of expression."


www.loukiarichards.net    |   @loukiarichards

"The Curator", brooch, 2015. Found objects, broom bristles, steel pin. Photo : Chr. Ziegler.


CHRISTOPH ZIEGLER

"The Curator brooch is made of a broken space superhero toy I found in a Hamburg flea market trash bin. The broom bristles used for the brooch are reminiscent of jewelry's shamanic function. I created the brooch after the apotropaic design of the Medusa head, very popular in Greco-Roman jewelry.
The Curator brooch is a portrait of my partner, Loukia Richards, with whom I co-curate numerous shows and commemorates our, often turbulent, collaborations. "


www.zlr-betriebsimperium.com   |   @rossozett

"Mountains are the spines of the earth", spine brooch, 2022. Silver, reticulated silver. Photo: Jacqueline Kim.


ANNA LIU

"I was born in a small city in China located on the outskirts of the Sichuan Basin. When I was younger, I thought there was nothing special about it. Waking up to see the mountains stretching for miles left a clear image in my mind. Often the image of the mountains makes me feel nostalgic of the happy times with my family. Mountains had become an emotional trigger for me.

To me, jewelry serves as a reminder. Perhaps I will forget my return home, but the mountains will always be there waiting for me. Maybe your mountain is different from mine, but we all belong to a certain place."


www.annaliujewelry.com   |   @annaliu–art_jewelry

Ketli Tiitsar, "Tiger in the Living Room", necklace, 2013. Cherry wood, silver, paint, viscose. Photo: IPP.


GALERIE SCHMUCKE / KETLI TIITSAR

Ketli Tiitsar uses wood, mostly from old fruit trees from the gardens of her relatives, to show our connection to the past. The materials used highlight what we remember, what we decide to remember, and what we imagine.
In the series Tiger in the Living Room, Ketli Tiitsar brings together different things. Both the ideas and the resources come from the living room – a space, where the taste of the family members blends with tradition, as well as with recycled objects and DIY motifs.

SCHMUCKE showcases international jewelry art and design by renowned jewelry artists and emerging talents.


www.schmucke.net    |   @ketlitiitsarjewellery

"Pins and Needles #3", necklace, 2021. Steel, stainless steel, nylon, oxidized silver. Photo: Maria Przybylska.


EVA FERNANDEZ

The work „Pins and Needles" was a response to the death of Eva's mother, and the conflict she felt between her Spanish heritage and her present life in the UK.
The use of sewing needles to create a seemingly textile structure, challenges and questions the continuing domestic role of women, whilst also directly confronting her personal grief through repetitive making. This way, the works deals with the tension between the present and the past, and at the same time, poses questions on mourning in our times.


www.evafernandezmartos.weebly.com   |   @eva_ferndz

"Cycle I", brooch. Sterling silver, brass, vero resin, 2023. Photo: Baiyu Qu.


BAIYU QU

"Jewelry reflects personality and unveils the soul. Jewelry is the window of internal expression. Showing or hiding our true self is intrinsic to human nature. Self-expression can take various forms: dialogue, body language, or ornamentation.
One may choose to present a different image to the world than one's true self. The two sides of the human soul are mysterious and untouchable, alluring, yet invisible.
I use jewelry as a means to explore diverse ways of self-expression."


www.baiyuqujewelry.com   |   @baiyu_qu

"Twist of love", ring, 2023. Bronze, enamel, Swarovski crystals. Courtesy of the artist.


LIUBOV KLIVITKINA

"The "Twist of Love" ring, a recent work from my Fly-agaric with luv collection, is dedicated to the mystery of life. The mushroom cap depicts not only a flush of hearts but also a small skull.
This is a reminder to appreciate every moment of time and life, no matter how fast it moves. A special design feature allows the fly-agaric cap to rotate around its axis. Spin the fabulous hat, let the anxiety go away, and the current moment may be filled with love for life!"


www.luvjwl.com    |   @luv.jwl

"Calmer Waters #2", bracelet, 2023. Sterling silver. Photo: Chien Yu Liu.


CHIEN YU LIU

"My body of work is inspired by the watery landscape of southern Taiwan. Its ecosystem has been mindfully conserved by the locals. As a result, the number of endangered species has greatly increased within decades.
I use the manual skills of metalworking in my practice, particularly hammering. It allows me to create intimacy with the materials and with my audience."


@veraelileg