MONSTERS bracelet

As time passes, a relationship grows between a piece of jewellery and its wearer, creating a connection between the present and the past, including both the nice and the less nice events.

I intentionally try to give my feelings, ideas and traumas a raw form without embellishing it, without making it rational, so that it stands on a borderline between aesthetically pleasant and terrifying, or even sometimes irritating. I try to find the balance between an object that adorns and an object that reveals a more complicated history or emotion. At first glimpse my work is playful, but that apparent lightness reinforces the darker or more complicated aspects of the work.

My project, Mother tongue, is a response me living abroad, away from home. I find myself in a multi-national city, full of expats trying to find their reason. They have sharp teeth and a scratching tongue. While tongues can scrape your skin, they can also heal profound wounds.

Sometimes my work not only surprises me, but also scares me with what it drags to the surface.

To make mother tongue monsters I used different techniques and materials. I carved the teeth in wax and used lost wax techniques. The teeth are made in 925/1000 (sterling) silver. Once formed the jaws I made a copper structure using hammering and chasing. For two of them I made a tongue using an electro-plated sage leaf. The third animal has instead of the tongue a soft fur. Lastly I shaped and fixed the leather above the animals.