Spot the Designer - Yisi Liu/ China
What did you want to be when you were a child?
When I was young, I thought about learning an MBA. When I was a child, I was obsessed with logic and numbers, but when I grew up I became an artist who is closely related to romance and freedom. It is also a very wonderful living situation.
When have you started creating jewelry? How did this passion come about?
The first time I made jewelry was when I was in college. At that time, I founded the Hanfu Club at the university to study traditional culture with my classmates. Out of my passion for hand-made and the love of traditional clothing systems, my friends and I taught ourselves traditional jewellery making, so I fell in love with jewellery.
What was your first project or significant piece for you and from what point of view?
My first project is "Empty Nest Youth", which is my first contemporary jewelry project. Due to the development of urbanization in China, more and more young people are leaving their hometowns to develop in big cities. Young people in big cities often live alone, far away from their families, and from home. I also feel the same about studying outside my hometown. After returning home after a day of study and work, young people will also want to have a warm hug to accompany me. Therefore, I made metal and cement and other elements that symbolize the big city into the shape of a huge hand and expressed my feelings about the empty-nest youth group with the sense of conflict and contrast of the cold hug.
How do you charge your batteries? What other passions and creative interests do you have?
Reading, exhibitions, travelling, everything that can make me feel the beauty of life and better understand the world can give me energy and inspire my creative inspiration.
What does the connection between manufacturing tradition and contemporary design mean to you?
I think contemporary design is gradually getting rid of its dependence on traditional methods. New materials, various expression methods, and the help of high-tech technology in production can make it easier for us to achieve our goals. However, I still think it is necessary to learn traditional handicrafts. I think exquisite craftsmanship and finished workmanship are also very important parts of jewelry.
Is there a self-portrait piece that speaks most about you?
Every project is part of me. If there is a work that best represents me at the moment, it is my latest work. This is an unfinished series of works. Its theme represents my feminism. At the same time, its unfinished state is to some extent my downturn.
What materials have you not used yet are a temptation and challenge for you?
Materials that are fresh, lively, and change with time and the environment are a temptation and challenge for me. For example, plants, or ice that melts, or sugar that attracts insects. I am very interested in these changing materials, but their uncontrollability is also a big challenge for me.
How was the pandemic period for you as a jewelry designer?
The epidemic interrupted the production of several projects, and it made my environment constantly change. It is difficult for me to find a stable environment for quiet creation.
How do you see the future of contemporary jewelry?
More and more people will join the art of contemporary jewelry, and female artists will hold up a large area sky of contemporary jewelry.
Find more about the designer Yisi Liu