Hatara Project, Time Perception VOL.2 #28

This year Munich Jewellery Week (MJW16) started on my birthday on the February 23. I could have not imagined a better present then having my name on the exhibiting artist list. The number #28 in the headline stands for our number in the Current Obsession map, made exclusively for MJW16.

First Latte at the Lost Weekend

 I was the first to visit the Hatara Project exhibition Time Perception last year. It turned out to be a fateful visit for me because thanks to that and another meeting with Annea Lounatvuori in Riga I had the chance to become a part of the Hatara Project. I feel like I should explain what does Hatara Project mean but I'm not sure I can do this properly because it started as a collaboration between Annea Lounatvuori and Christine Jalio last year. I guess I could call this a group of contemporary jewellery artists. This year Annea and Christine decided to invite  Helmi Lindblom (Finland), Melina Lindroos (Finland), Wiebke Pandikow (Germany/Finland) and me - Ginta Zabarovska (Latvia) to join them in their project. As I see it the exhibition had a wide view on  time perception in six various interpretations. We will see were this collaboration will lead us in future.

Ginta Zabarovska
Making off
 23/02/2016

The opening night was on February 24. Me together with Christine and her mother had a long day at the gallery and Annea joined us a few hours before the opening. I was so happy to see many people visiting our exhibition especially because most of the exhibitions within MJW16 were opening at the same time. Thank you jewellery artists Yiumsiri Kaï Vantanapindu and Marine Dominiczak for visiting. Of course the biggest thank you Camille who hosted me in Munich! Was a great pleasure to meet Päivi Ruutiainen PhD, art critic (FI) who has wrote for the book Hibernate, that got launched during MJW16. And a lot more (about 500) great people came to visit us on the opening night and the following three days.

Current Obsession magazine street sign for Time Perception vol.2

From the opening of Time Perception vol.2
Ari Niskanen with a ring by Annea Lounatvuori

From the opening of Time Perception vol.2
Annea Lounatvuori and Yiumsiri Vantanapindu

From the opening of Time Perception vol.2
Ginta Zabraovska, Christine Jalio, Annea Lounatvuori

I was participating in the exhibition with two brooches from the collection "Liepajas street" (2011), a pendant from the collection "Time Zones" (2013) and three pieces from my collection "Home" (2014-2016). I chose these pieces because they where all in a close context to the theme Time Perception. I am doing an internship in Strasbourg for the moment and I feel traveling in close contact with time and the way I perceive it.

Ginta Zabarovska "Home"
Made in Alsace 2016

The two recent pieces where made with a great help of my tutor for the time being - Yiumsiri Vantanapindu. She is a great artist working with metal and ceramics and she introduced me to porcelain. Her work was exhibited widely within MJW16 in the Handwerk & Design expo at the ATTA gallery display.

Ginta Zabarovska "Home"
Made in Alsace (2016)
model: Marine

The long porcelain beads remind me of the insect curtain we used to have in my grandparents house when I was a child. I was so fascinated by the sound they made when walked through and the fragmented texture I would play with holding it in my hands. So I made a brooch without a pin, that you can simply hook behind your collar, and it produces the sound and the structure of the curtain from my grandparents house.

Ginta Zabarovska "Liepajas street" (2011)

Ginta Zabarovska "Time Zones" (2013)

Ginta Zabarovska "Home"
Made in Alsace 2016
the back of the necklace

Ginta Zabarovska
exhibition view

Annea Lounatvuori "Chinatown"

Annea's collection China Town was a lot more voluminous then her last years work. She still kept the horse hair as a characterizing element in her work but instead of adding Plexiglas and wood she used various materials one can find in a hardware store. The inspiration for the massive and brave performance by Annea come from her trip to New York and her getting lost in Chinatown. She did not hesitate to share her experience in the despair and fear she felt while being lost and crying like an abandoned child. The message is not to be afraid of being afraid - she explained. Annea was wearing one of her necklaces as we set and eat our schnitzels in the Augustinerkeller "GOLDSCHMIEDETREFFEN" (that is a big dinner for all the Schmuck visitors). She begun to acknowledge the implementation of her idea by sensing the actual piece.

Annea Lounatvuori and Janne Lounatvuori at The Dinnerin the Augustinerkeller "GOLDSCHMIEDETREFFEN"
Thank's to Janne for helping to take down the exhibition

Annea Lounatvuori "Chinatown"

Annea Lounatvuori "Chinatown"

Annea Lounatvuori (image from the author's personal archive)

Exhibition view
Time Perception vol.2 (Annea Lounatvuori pieces on the right)

As Christine Jalio explains - collection "Loss" is a continuum of her earlier "Past, Loss, Future" collection which tells the story of aging and loneliness. The theme sounds so Finnish I can't avoid mentioning our conversation with Christine were we discussed the polar night impact on northern population. People are affected by the dark period and they actually appear sad and contemplative. Christine lives in a small town Lapua and has recently lost here father. For me her new collection tends to collapse and relates with ruins. This illustrates the theme "Loss" quite straightforward. People seem fascinated by the mild forms of silk clay that she handles so well. Some associate her pieces with candy but oddly the works speak of death.

Christine Jalio "Loss"

Pop-up store in the Galerie Vernon

Christine Jalio

Christine Jalio "Past, Loss, Future" (image from the author's personal archive)
Special thanks to Christine's mother (the lovely lady in the picture) she was an indispensable assistant at the gallery

Melina's Lindroos "Hiding Places" seem to attract attention with their simplicity and a binding performance. Her collection consists of seven pins. In her search of forms she used avocado peel. The diversity and genius of natural forms and their simplicity ceases to amaze. I never had the chance to meet Melina in person but the subtle forms and clarity of her work generates good thoughts. "Hiding places" talks about the feeling of safety. Melina is approaching time perception  "through a slow meditative process" - she explains. Hiding and safety are related to the slowing down or avoidance of time. The viewer is about to become aware of time through the visual and physical senses as Melina invites to peek inside and hold the pieces.

Melina Lindroos "Hiding Places"

Melina Lindroos "Hiding Places" (image from the author's personal archive)

Melina Lindroos "Hiding Places" (image from the author's personal archive)

Helmi's Lindblom's photo-shoot of the series "Tule" (in English - Come) become our "front page" on the internet in portals like munichjewelleryweek.com or facebook. "Come" is the best title to appear in the media as we wanted everyone to come to our exhibition. With the title Helmi was inviting everyone to come and and step closer or touch her pieces, for whom she surprisingly inspired from the cactus although the pieces are perfectly non spiny. The brooches and necklaces were to leave a playful impression which they certainly did, in particular, the pieces teared with the blue color. They called an association with a clumsy accident or pranks within me. The collection is made to awaken the child within us so Helmi is approaching time from a viewpoint in the past.

Helmi Lindblom "Come"

Helmi Lindblom "Come" (image from the author's personal archive)

I find Wiebke Pankow's work the most lyrical and romantic compared to all the rest from Hatara Project. Wiebke says - what was living organisms thousands of years ago, became oil, then became plastic, now returns to forms that resemble living plants once more. It's clear that she is talking about a time-consuming process that she symbolically continues. Wiebke has brought plastic bags to the edge by turning them into flower and worm like images. I could describe the work by Wiebke with the words of a visitor who wrote in our guest book - the jewelry made of wood and plastic is very poetic and intelligent. 

Wiebke Pankow (image from the author's personal archive)

Wiebke Pankow
exhibition view

Thank you Galerie Vernon for having us!

Dutch Design Week (DDW) 2015

DDW from a jewelery artists point of view

 I started writing an article on jewelery in the DDW some time ago, but it accidentally got erased, so now I feel pretty unfortunate about my bogging career. But I still wanted to share the impressions by (as some friend once said about tweeting) writing a message to now one. So you are welcome to see over my photos with my short comments.
I'll begin with Judith Schwendener, she was the first jewelery artist I meat in the DDW. Her work seamed interesting and it approved when the author explained her idea about her jewelery collection - Ornamental Abstractions.

Judith Schwendener

 This is a book that documented her process of getting to the jewelery piece. She works with the idea of recycling and giving second life to old objects but in a smart and thought-out manner. You can read more about her idea in her home page. 
 

Judith Schwendener

Judith Schwendener (on the right) explaining her work to a visitor

 I had an idea to document the jewelery pieces that people are wearing to these kind of events. I have noticed that you can find people with more extraordinary adornment in areas where you can buy that kind of stuff. It might also mean that people were more unusual jewelery to events where they feel that they are going to fit in with their beloved wearable art pieces. Another frequent situation is that the wearer is the author of his or here jewelery piece. This puts me in an awkward situation if I accidentally don't recognize a famous jeweler and his or her jewelery piece so I am sorry in advance if this is the case.
 

A women wearing an interesting necklace in the DDW 2015 Design Perron

 Another thing I wanted to note is that some of the pieces that people were are pointing out their belonging to the event as the next two examples show. The women with her DDW ticket-bracelet.

A woman with her jewelery and the DDW ticket in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

One of the graduates in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015 with the brooch pointing out her belonging to the Graduation Show

One of the graduates in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015 with the brooch pointing her belonging to the Graduation Show

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

A man with his brooch in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

 I knowingly added this picture to my jewelery related photo selection. This spectator is wearing a surgical mask but sometimes objects like these can be caught differently from how they were intended. For example Marcel van der Vlugt photography shows that mouth too can be decorated as other parts of the body. Burcu Buyukunal, Naomi Filmer and Imme van der Haak (her work was shown in the Van Abbemuseum) are just a few artists who have worked out new ways of decorating human face.

Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

One of the graduates in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

 This picture shows how the necklace interacts with the person in movement.

One of the graduates in the Design Academy Eindhoven Graduation Show 2015

Ineke Otte

 A lot of attention in the design arena is drawn to 3D printing and the possibilities it gives to different kind of design fields. It also gives opportunity to people with less knowledge about the sphere to jump into the market successfully or unsuccessfully.
A good example on 3D printing usage is Ted Noten's project “WANNA SWAP YOUR RING?” He carried out the project in various cites all around the world. You can reed about the project in his home page. I took part in the project swapping Mis Piggy ring to some ring I made in school during Ted Noten's exhibition in Riga in Gallery Putti.“WANNA SWAP YOUR RING?” (San Francisco) was exhibited in the Veemgeboum exhibition Hands Off: New Dutch Design at the Confluence of Technology & Craft.

Ted Noten  “WANNA SWAP YOUR RING?”, San Francisco

Ted Noten is represented in the Van Abbemuseum with his Mercedes Benz Brooches.

Ted Noten

Ted Noten

Alix Gallet in Van Abbemuseum

Alix Gallet in Van Abbemuseum

 If we look at artists like Yuka Oyama as representatives of the jewelery art field then Moulage Masks at the Temporary Art Center Eindhoven could qualify as facial decorations.

 Moulage Masks by Chantal Hanssen/ Michelle Geraets/ Jordi Raes/ Vera den Otter/ Kevin Hennessy/ Milou Wehrens

A lot of people enjoy the interactivity in the faceexhibit pieces thanks to the social networking website instagram.

Ditte Trudslev Jensen - faceexhibit

DDW at Klokgebow

The most fragile pieces I saw were Anne Büscher glass objects.

Anne Büscher

Anne Büscher

Anne Büscher

Anne Büscher

Anne Büscher

Thank you for reading. Feel free to leave a comment.

We - Womenkind

Collection We 2015, sterling silver

 With this contemporary jewelery collection of four breast decorations I become a Master of Arts. To see the pieces in life you have to visit the Designers’ Graduation Show 2015 at the Art Academy of Latvia.   Here are some photos by  Kaspars Filips Dobrovolskis.

Collection We 2015, sterling silver

Piece from the collection We 2015, sterling silver, gold-plated silver

Collection We 2015, sterling silver

Thank you prof. Juris Gagainis for being my supervisor and teacher for all these years and a special thanks to my photo-shoot team Krista, Līga, Margarita, Zane, Linda and Kaspars!