I wanted to be a scientist and invent a pipe for my father that can be smoked but does not harm the body.
When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?
In my third year of undergraduate. I always liked wearing jewellery and wanted to give jewellery to one of my important people, so I participated in an internship at a jewellery workshop. Within a month I designed and worked with craftsmen to create my first piece of jewellery, a signet ring.
What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?
One of the most important projects for me is an experiment exploring the relationship between the body and object. Creation during the epidemic was very limited, and I had to use all the props in a rented house as inspiration for my creations. Even made a poncho out of eaten potato chip plastic bags. Perhaps freedom and openness can give me creative space, but the experience of being under extreme restrictions is more unique to me and very memorable.
How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?
I try to think while driving. Driving and moving are moments of calm for me. I like cooking. The possibilities of mixing ingredients and spices are perhaps more difficult to grasp than metals.
What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?
A small section of my graduate thesis dealt with this issue. I believe the "value" of jewellery is one of its inherent attributes. Just how to determine the value and who determines it? For traditional manufacturing, it is price and consumers. Because jewellery is proof of the ruling class. Complex and exquisite jewellery often represents more labor costs, and the more expensive it is, the stronger the consumer's ability. Today’s contemporary design’s value is determined by public visibility and capital. If more people like something, capital can take the opportunity to intervene. Under the hype and packaging, the value of its art will become higher and higher, and capital will obtain higher returns. In the end, both will obtain sufficient satisfaction. Therefore, for me, traditional manufacturing and contemporary design are now at the stage of "parting ways", and I am involved in both fields. I am looking for ways to balance them, perhaps to find an audience that intersects.
Which material have you not yet used is a temptation and a challenge for you?
Titanium alloy. There are many possibilities for firing titanium alloys, but its potential as a jewellery and industrial medical material is far from being exploited.
How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?
Just like the answer in the fourth question. I think creative practice and experimentation under extreme constraints are necessary. I feel that the epidemic has given me precious time to learn how to be calm, how to live and talk completely with myself and the limited materials around me.
How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?
I think contemporary jewelry is driven by the trend of art. From this, I can infer that "anti-contemporary jewellery" may be the future that contemporary jewellery will face.
