Architectonic Jewellery
Gallery Medusa Koper, 28. 10. – 29. 11. 2010
Peter Skubic, Nenad Roban, Petra Bole
Architecture and Jewellery
At first glance, it seems that they are two opposing mediums – architecture and jewellery. The first defines our immediate area as well as the general ambiance in which we live and are formed, the way we gain experience in space, which attitude to embrace and what to gain from it. In contrast, jewellery belongs to the microcosm, as it is located on the immediate membrane that envelopes us. Jewellery are signs that contribute to a precise determination of which cultural circle we belong to, what we say to others about our social status, our respect and attitude towards others.
The traces of analogy between architecture and jewellery are of recent discovery. On the basis of the wider context of fashion, with which architecture began to interact, it was only a question of time as to when the interest would be directed towards the art of adornment. The history of the relationship between architecture and jewellery is a history of mankind or rather of human nature – of that part that seeks to demonstrate its superiority over others or even over nature. And jewellery and architecture, each in its own way, express the views of society, achievements in design, the breadth of the wider creative community and its individuals. Furthermore, architects and jewellery artists, each using their own medium and format, express views and participate in the complex process of forming and defining the center.
Today there is even greater opportunity for creative freedom. Therefore, via diverse means of expression (including architecture and jewellery), artists emphasize individuality – their own individuality, which determines how they operate as much as the media they work in. The way they communicate amongst themselves is complex and they depend on one another; the materials they use are often similar, sometimes identical. Throughout all historical periods, architecture and jewellery have shared a common visual language, a language that broke down in the 20th century due to the mass production of jewellery. However, the return of handmade and artistic approaches in which the field of interest expanded to include new design considerations and where it was important to emphasize the role of art schools and academies, it became possible once again to place jewellery in the context of reciprocal inspiration from architecture and other visual media.
It is possible to debate jewellery and architecture on the basis of common visual and intellectual principles. Both media have an impact on the environment, and both contribute to defining the division of space structures based on product volume, function, proportion, and materials. Similarities can be observed in the implementation of projects, since the process of making jewelry is in a way similar to the architecture process. In addition, it is important to mention the body-defining internal laws of both media. As architecture deals with the space in which a body resides, jewellery is a spiritual resort for the person for whom it is made, since jewelry combines time, memory, and recognition. In this context, an important concept that encourages the formation of jewelry in which on a spiritual level it is connected with the architecture.
The exhibition is dedicated to two creators – jewellery designers whose work is based on the interaction between the internal and external world, objects that adorn the membrane of the human body as it inhabits – and indeed informs – architectural space. Pieces of jewellery can testify as to the personality of an individual, whether the creator or the person who wears the creation, and at the same time they indicate a fragile, often invisible, relationship between indoor and outdoor space. Pieces of jewellry should emphasize their interaction, the rhythm of their mutual relations, the role of light and darkness, fullness and emptiness, all factors that determine the space within which we are formed and express our emotions.
Dr. Sandra Križić Roban (from the Introduction)