Trivial Trace
In our lives, we will leave a lot of traces inadvertently: the traces of pen writing on paper, the traces of ink smearing on rice paper, the clothes we wear are accidentally soiled or scratched, or even some small holes at the contact with body through the time of wearing. These are traces. Some of them will attract everyone’s attention, but some of them are ignored because of their smallness. The starting point of this project is the traces. Trace could be seen as an outcome of the interaction between people and the surroundings. It is a medium connects us with the outside world and a history which is easy to be overlooked so that disappear on someday in the future. Collect these traces and keep them in a way as a jeweler could make new story. Retaining some traces is also retaining the memories related to the traces, which is very meaningful to the individual.
At the beginning, I did not limit myself to one specific trace instead of observing the daily life. I try to figure out how these traces are left through various experiments in different media. It could be the common paper in our lives, it could also be some fabric, leather, or directly the clothes we wear. As a jewelry designer, when we work in the studio, it is inevitable that after a busy day of work, we will find injuries or many new marks on the clothes. It may be the scars left by the saw blade, or nails were worn off during sanding, even burning mark caused by the hot copper piece accidentally fell on the clothes. These marks seem to tell the story of what they have experienced. This kind of traceable feeling fascinates me. Based on these traces, I started my creation.
The traces on the clothes carry our memories and stories, so they are full of meaning and valuable to the owners, in which many people are unwilling to discard them. Some clothes are very memorable but have been shelved because of some irreparable traces. I want to create a jewelry work based on this. It is good to interact with these traces and change their attributes so that they are no longer just something that everyone wants to avoid but become a new decorative point that emphasizes their own story. There is a certain degree of playability and interactivity in my pieces. I hope that my work is not immutable, but can be combined arbitrarily, and the final form of the work is determined by the wearer. What I create is not a piece of jewelry in the traditional sense. I prefer to treat them as Lego bricks because they share similar characteristics and can be combined randomly under some specific rules. I am the one to make the rules.
The function of contemporary jewelry should not still be obstructed in the decoration but pay more attention on the meaning it conveys through work. There is more to discover when once the work is completed.
Sun Rong 2020 Go Through. Brass, Acrylic tube. Image of 3D modelling
Sun Rong, 2020, Go through, brass, 40*40mm