Young designer, student of the Gdańsk Academy of Fine Arts and winner of 2nd place in a competition Amberif Design Award 2012, about the role of jewelry in general and amber in particular.
Jewelry and at the same time a tactile medium – that is your work awarded in the Amberif Design Award competition. Is this a ring-shaped pendant?
The full name of the project is „Made to pleasure. Erotic toy” – the English name due to the requirements of the competition. My main goal was to show pleasure in its purest form. In the jewelry project, the most important medium is always the aesthetic side, while I wanted to „touch” another, more interesting sphere of touch, the direct contact of the ornament with the recipient. I think that amber – like no other „material” – inspires such thoughts: it is warm, pleasant, smooth. It is exactly these associations that inspire me and that I wanted to show in this competition project. I think that the photographed piece accurately conveys what I had in mind. Also, the arrangement of the fabric is not random, because in a rather subtle way it evokes associations with a nipple. I don’t know if everyone is able to notice it, but a woman certainly is. Knowing, of course, the title of the project. So the term “ring-smeracz” seems to be appropriate. Therefore, n:joy!
Why do you think the touch sphere is more interesting? And how do you implement it in your projects?
It’s more interesting, among other things, because it positions me as a designer in a completely different way of observation. I like when a design has that something that fits in or even contrasts with the body, but it always has a specific effect on the body. After all, jewelry is in direct contact with the skin, so why not play around with that sphere?
I try to ensure that my designs are not just an addition, an ornament „attached” to the user, but convey a certain content and evoke emotions. Sometimes I „chew” them, and sometimes I „chew” our bodies. For example, one of my „chewing” projects is a nipple insert with a very sharp and rather aggressive shape. Just the idea of putting it on a nipple is painful.
So what should be the modern jewelry?
My projects are a reflection of my vision of jewelry, of what it should be and what emotions it should evoke. For me, the added value is to treat jewelry more broadly than just limiting it to a necklace or a ring. I am convinced that sometimes it is worth going further and treating the body as a broad concept of inspiration, observation, and analysis. Trying to design new types of objects for the body seems very daunting to me.
Your portfolio of student designers includes not only jewelry. Which design field is closest to your heart?
Throughout my studies, I designed objects with very diverse themes – and not just that – starting with small 3D forms and ending with visual communication. At the same time, I was constantly searching for my own path and something that would really capture me. The unexpected turn of events was the transition to the jewelry studio, which completely absorbed me. I felt as if I had received a new dose of energy that I so desperately needed. I quickly found my way to designing it and I felt great at it. Designing and making jewelry gives me a lot of satisfaction and joy, it has become the closest thing to all the other fields I have ever worked in. Perhaps that’s because it gives me such freedom and flexibility in design that I so desperately lacked in utilitarian design, fraught with a whole range of limitations?
Your amber jewelry designs will soon be available to view in an album. „Trend Book 2012+” and the exhibition accompanying its premiere. How do young designers perceive this stone?
For me, working with amber is very pleasant – starting with the processing and finishing, to the surprising effects that each „dirty lump” brings. Amber is always a surprise, and that inspires me to be creative. However, I treat it like another material, and I want to combine it in an unconventional way with other „unconventional” materials – this way I don’t set any limits for myself. I have rejected all associations and all knowledge about the possibilities of its use; I have „reset” my mind: I started thinking about it „from scratch” and treated it as another material from which I want to create something. I am open to the most unconventional combinations. Not so long ago, jewelers shook their heads in contempt, asking, „What am I doing with this amber?” They couldn’t accept the idea that I was combining it with resin or corian. I believe that the nobility of amber defends itself by itself, and combining it with artificial materials does nothing to enhance it; it merely shows it in a new light. How do young designers perceive amber and how do they use it in their work? I invite you to the exhibition and to familiarize yourself with the „Trend Book” 2012+”.