New York City Jewelry Week 2021
Heteronym Bows
ebony, silver, steel
This year I feel very fortunate to be selected and be part of an important dialogue propositioned by curator Nuo Jiang (director of Artists Living Room NYC) on perspectives and Asian identities. In response to the exhibition theme ‘Meditating Through Jewelry.’ I have designed and handmade two brooches for the show. This exhibition is part of the New York City Jewelry Week festival from November 15 - 21
www.nycjewelryweek.com
Photos
1-2 Bows
3 Poster
4-5 Ashley Nettye - Contemporary Fine Jeweller wearing my brooch >> ashleynettye.com
Bows
Heteronym is a homograph, a word that has the same spelling as another word but is pronounce differently. These forms are based on a bow. As a noun, the bow is a knot or tie, or a weapon for shooting archery. As a verb, bow is to bend the head, body or knee in submission, inclining or in reverence. They are brooches made to be worn below the neckline. They are constructed from two components with a central pin linking the two parts together by twisting along the thread.
As a Southeast Asian-Australian, I explore my multi-cultural identity living between the eastern and western sphere. These works, metaphorically describe my two cultures coming together to form a single unit. As a single unit, it forms a universal image of the bow. When wearing these brooches, it requires the gentle act of twisting two parts together. Through this action, the object requires the wearer to bow in order to thread the brooch onto clothing.
In taking inspiration from the homograph of ‘bow’, these translated forms play on the multiplicity of the word and its visual references. For example, they echo the bow form, but vertically they suggest the hour glass and further contain a figurative reference. These works see parallel gestures in myself. Although I live in the western sphere, I am still the same peoples but perhaps with a different pronunciation.
Exhibition Description from Artists Living Room
Meditating Through Jewelry will exhibit contemporary jewelry works by 13 Asian artists from all over the world. The participating Asian artists have different backgrounds and artistic styles, while all of them treat creating contemporary jewelry as a way of meditating and reflecting on their inner feelings and identities. The exhibited works are the outcomes of the meditation. They present the uniqueness of each participating Asian artist’s identity and individuality.
Meditating Through Jewelry serves to provide alternative perspectives against the long-existed stereotypes regarding Asian communities.
text from: https://klimt02.net/events/exhibitions/meditating-jewelry-new-york-city-jewelry-week-2021-artists-living-room
