Jewellery Project | (Im)permanent

This project reflects on what it means to belong somewhere: a personal history in paper, held and contained inside pure silver (fine silver 999).

Like many EU citizens residing in the UK, in the aftermath of ‘Brexit’ I wanted to ensure my status was secure. I applied to acquire permanent residency, which involved proving five years’ worth of living, working and paying taxes in the UK. Gathering the tax receipts, bank statements, business receipts and housing contracts for the application was a process at times banal but also deeply unsettling.

With the paper gathered for the application, I decided to create a body of work. Could the anxiety and alienation of this process be turned into something thought-provoking, creative and joyful?

(Im)permanent is a body of work which consists of jewellery and small objects in paper and silver. It speaks of life experiences, hopes, fears, barriers or excitements.

My process is to extract value from the paper by encasing it within pure silver forms; using jewellery techniques to create containers; playfully hand-cutting, layering, shaping and treating the paper. The meaning is embedded inside the pieces: they are breathing, living fossils encased in silver.

Originally posted on 28/11/2018