COUP de COEUR : Isabella LIU – mended jewels
Isabella Liu, discovered at JOYA 2014, where she was one of the finalists at Enjoia’t Estudiant award 2014.
You first see white porcelain pieces, like teapots, broken, and mended with gold lines …. and then you discover that, opening the piece, the « mending » is in fact a jewelry piece …. I found it so poetic ….
Isabella Liu, Pieces, 2014 - Mending- One Brooch in a Midi Ceramic Pottery, 2014 – Ceramic, gold plated metal – 13 x 10.4 x 3.9 cm - Object and jewellery
« Inspired by Japanese art of Kintsugi and her design philosophy, Isabella Liu believes that anything suffering damage has it’s potential to become more beautiful. In the ‘Mending’ collection, she has chosen to focus on broken and fragile objects, utilising narrative approaches and designs a set of ceramic tableware. Instead of hiding their damaged areas she opted to celebrate and highlight their fragility into a wearable piece of art of a sculptural form and giving them a new life. She pushes the boundary of object and jewellery. The golden crack is intended to be appreciated both on the body as a piece of jewellery as well as off within the porcelain as a piece of museum art in their own right, which engages audiences by transforming the piece. Isabella regards the design and creation of her work as a form of meditation and process of cultivation. She explores the spiritual belief by celebrating the factures of broken objects and the fragility of life. Changing our perspectives about life’s challenges, and engages with audiences mending with joy and peace, and then beauty and enlightenment can transpire from them.«
Isabella Liu - Mending- open the pure white porcelain, then surprisely discover a sophisticated golden brooch across your shoulder.
Isabella Liu Pieces: Mending – Double Rings in a Ceramic Pottery, 2014 Ceramic, gold plated metal 13 x 4.8 x 7.8cm Object and jewellery
Mending’ collection from Isabella Liu Jewellery
Isabella Liu Pieces: Mending – One Big Ring in a Midi Ceramic Pottery, 2014 Ceramic, gold plated metal 13 x 6.8 x 4 cm Object and jewellery – at Shanghai Design Week 2014
« When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful” – Billie Mobayedt Inspired from this Japanese philosophy and her personal experiences, Isabella Liu has chosen to closely focus on broken and fragile objects. She collected a large number of broken and abandoned objects such as barks that had fallen from trees in a cemetery, broken china from vintage markets, etc. Liu examined these items in order to discover where they were broken. Instead of hiding their damaged areas she opted to illuminate them and resultantly transforming their fragility and cracks into a real piece of art and giving them a new life. Isabella regards the creation processes of jewellery as a method of self-cultivation. She recognizes the cracks and fragilities of life and is able to transform injuries and imperfections into beauty. In the ‘Mending’ collection, she presents this inspirational and hopeful belief that by changing our thinking about life’s injuries and by mending them with joy and peace, beauty and illumination can transpire from them.«
Isabella Liu – Mending II- 2014
Isabella Liu – Mending- 2014 – A pair of earrings, surprisingly discovered from a pair of petite porcelains
