At home

At home

Chains 2006/2007

The sources for these pieces of jewellery are press photographs. The pictures show buildings destroyed by war or ecological disasters where people’s homes once were, or where they are still living under difficult circumstances. Destroyed houses and destroyed living-spaces offend and shock me.
I take these ephemeral pictures from newspapers and put them onto silver, a long lasting material, etching them onto silver sheet. Before I cut the silver sheet to make the hollow, oval forms, I reprinted the etched picture on handmade paper.

The gentle oval form of the chains invites us to touch and caress them. As we touch them we are also touching the pictures of the destruction and pain. The pictures on the jewellery are not immediately visible to casual observers, only the wearer knows about them. We cannot undo the wars and catastrophes, but we can make a place in our consciousness and in our outrage for people who suffer. Rosaries have always had a similar purpose.

The chains vary in length around 100cm.
The size of the oval forms is between 2 and 8 cm.
Each chain is accompanied by a wooden box, 40x30x5cm, and the print on handmade paper.