Materials: Oxidized bronze
Dimensions: 300 x 350mm
This neckpiece emerged as the result of a project on individuality. Using the unique imprints of the body, the work translates forms and outlines that previously only existed in the mind, into a distinctively visual reality. While it isn’t immediately apparent that the piece has been cast from the body, on closer inspection, the imprint of skin on its surface and its finger-like tendrils offer hints of its origin.
Fairina Cheng
Sydney, Australia
Fairina is an emerging Sydney-based contemporary jeweler. Her path into jewelry design began with a fascination with the body, and the various ways it has been used as a canvas.
She thinks of herself as someone who doesn’t wear much jewelry. The twelve adornments that never leave her body have become such fundamental parts of her that she sees them, not as accessories, but as inextricable parts of her identity.
Ganoksin hosts the jewelry list Orchid, with over 13,000 list members from all over the world, speaking from a wide range of technical and aesthetic experiences. The exhibition theme grew out of a desire to celebrate the creativity encompassed in this wide variety.
Artists were free to interpret the theme in any way they chose. Each artist could submit up to six pieces. Interpretations include uniting different materials into one cohesive form; intellectual and emotional “unitings”, where the meaning of the piece unites multiple concepts; the uniting of time - past, present and future; and a number that focus on the harmony created when uniting multiple materials and/or concepts.
The work submitted involved a wide range of jewelry techniques, from very traditional to very cutting edge, as well as using materials from traditional precious metals and gemstones to “re-purposed” and “up-cycled” materials.
The exhibition showcases 330 images chosen from entries from over 111 artists representing 26 countries.
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Serbia, Spain, Trinidad, Turkey, UK, USA, Venezuela, and the Virgin Islands
Many of the participants began their interest in jewelry at a young age. Some are relative newcomers to the field, and some have over 35 years of experience as professional jewelers and goldsmiths. While some grew up in families that were goldsmiths, and followed in those footsteps, others only began creating jewelry as adults.
