Page 38 - SMCK Magazine - Issue #01

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middle-class practitioners, the majority of whom have European ancestry. The explora- tion of this topic could create new frames of work and a more inclusive scene.
BUENOS AIRESA R G E N T I N A
Being the capital city of a country named after a precious metal seems decisive for the long tradi- tion of silversmiths that followed. The land was so abundant in silver that the Spanish conquerors called it “Argentum” and enslaved its natives to extract the
material.
Traditional silverware and jewel-
lery display wealth and promote
traditional values related to male dominance. The religious pendant
is the most archetypical jewellery
you see in Buenos Aires. Usually,
it reflects the wearer’s faith in apo-
tropaic jewellery and isn’t neces-
sarily a sign of Christian piety.
This tradition is being challenged. Contempo- rary jewellers, now mostly female and/or queer, make art imbued with new meaning. Jewellery, in this context, is no longer a binary,
ELRÍODELAPLATAY SU NUEVA CORRIENTE
JEWELLERY DEFIES MACHISMO
By Virginia Jakim
male-dominated interpretation of what an or- nament should be—refined, elegant, and light for women; sober, stark, and powerful for men. It follows a conceptual approach in which ma- kers express their more inclusive worldviews, previously dismissed as “feminine” or of “lesser
value,” for a society shaped by colonial hierarchies and machismo.
Nevertheless, there is still a lot to be improved. How silver was connected to the exploi- tation of natives and, later, of African slaves is an issue not yet being addressed. The contemporary jewellery scene still remains small and mainly consists of upper-
JEWELLERY & THE CITY