Why jewellery? Biennial Touring Exhibitions 首飾 ? 當代首飾巡迴展覽(2015, 2017, 2019)

A collaboration between the Academy of Visual Arts, the Hong Kong Baptist University and Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia.香港浸會大學視覺藝術院暨澳洲昆士蘭藝術學院格里菲斯大學合辦之” 首飾? “雙年巡迴展覧。

https://www.why-jewellery.com

Human has long adorned ourselves with jewellery, even before we had written record. During this long period of history, jewellery has come to represent certain meanings, functions, and be associated with certain values. We use jewellery to cultivate good luck, avoid disasters, establish identity, build comradeship, show off wealth, display power, express love, memory and other feelings, and also to proclaim once or a society’s’ social and aesthetic values. Of cause jewellery can also be just a pure fashion statement.

The development of jewellery differs amongst different eras, regions, cultures, geographic environments and technology progressions. There is always a common thread, though, and that is to suit the needs of the time, the community, and the individual. Through the interaction of wearer, surroundings, and jewellery pieces, we learn how toexpress ourselves through adornment. Contemporary jewellery artists take this dialog a step forward. They often use jewellery as the medium for discussing issues that they care about, or use traditional values associated with jewellery for articulating their personal views and opinions.

Since 2015,the “Why Jewellery?”Biennial Touring Exhibitions has become an opportunity in demonstrating the varieties of contemporary jewellery. Teachers, students and graduates from the Academy of Visual Arts, the Hong Kong Baptist University and Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, Australia endeavor to create jewellery pieces from topics that are dear to their hearts. Through the interaction of works from two different cultures, we hope to illustrate the possibilities of contemporary jewellery, and its versatility in discussing contemporary issues.

Ching Sze Yin, Cicy

早於有文字記載之前，人類已經開始穿戴裝飾品。在穿戴的長久歷史中，首飾有著它一定的定義和功能價值。由趨吉避空、躲災避禍，到明身份、建立認同，它也可以誇耀財富、顯示權力，更可讓人表示愛慕、思念、宣洩情懷，也表現個人或社會的價值和審美觀，或只用作流行的指標等等。

在?同的時空、地域、文化背景、地理環境、國家情勢、技術發展之下，裝飾的目的在配合民族及時代的需求下各異發展，內容好像各有不同，但又卻一脈相承。它總是在人生活的環境中和各種各樣的人、事、物相交相遇，在種種互動的經驗中，學會如何通過裝飾達到保護、顯彰自己的功能。當代的首飾創作人更常以首飾作媒介，表達個人對其關心議題的立場和態度；或措用首飾的約定俗成定義，表達其個人的價值觀。

由2015年開始, 兩年一度的” 首飾 ? “當代首飾巡迴展覽,展示了香港浸會大學視覺藝術院和澳洲昆士蘭藝術學院格里菲斯大學的師生首飾作品。各人以首飾作媒體把各自關心的議題，以不同的材料和手法為出發點，創作一件又一件的作品。

希望透過展示兩地的首飾作品，讓觀者可感受首飾在當代的多元面貌，並對首飾作為創作媒體多一分認知。

程詩賢

“Why Jewellery?” Biennial Touring Exhibition, 2015