Rachael Plassard - UK - Global Creative Graduate Showcase
Rachael Plassard
Designer biography:
My work reinterprets traditional ornament, taking inspiration from highly decorative styles throughout history. This love for decoration runs through my family and is an intrinsic part of my practice. As a third-generation jeweller, I grew up making jewellery with my Mum and Grandma. In 2022, I embarked on a transformative two-year journey, pursuing a master’s degree in jewellery at the University for the Creative Arts, where I went on an incredible journey of self-discovery. I often work intuitively, marking out and piercing by hand, allowing myself to be absorbed in the flow of making. I take a maximalist approach to my work by layering up decorative surfaces and combining a mixture of techniques, etching, roller printing, keum boo, gold plating and oxidising. These combinations result in a richness and opulence, and what at first glance might look like a Greek headdress, or a baroque frame, on closer inspection is imbued with a contemporary aesthetic.
Collection concept:
This collection of pieces is a reflection on my father’s decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s disease and has been a means to further understanding memory loss, and how the act of creation can become a cathartic, healing journey.
The waved forms in this necklace are representative of the visual disturbances and distorted reality experienced by individuals with Alzheimer’s. It is important to me to highlight that Alzheimer’s is not just about memory loss, it impacts every aspect of a persons life. The imagery of grasping at memories before they fade into encapsulates the central themes of this collection. This necklace interprets the concepts of fading, deterioration, and the elusive nature of memory through various decorative techniques. Gold fades in areas and patterns become obscured and disrupted. The components are made up of layers, mirroring the layering of remembered memories. The black and gold tones in my work are significant to the theme - the gold symbolises vivid, emotional memories, while the black represents faded or disappearing factual memories.
RachaelPlassard_FadedBrooch_2022_SterlingSilver_Goldplate_5x1cm
RachaelPlassard_FrameBrooch_2023_SterlingSilver_Goldplate_5x2cm
RachaelPlassard_PathlessForestNecklace_2023_SterlingSilver_Goldfoil_20x1cm
RachaelPlassard_FadedAcanthusEarrings_2024_SterlingSilver_Goldfoil_6x2cm