Anxiety.

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2023 - polymer clay, bone china, and gold and silver chains

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Inspired by teeth stories collected from friends, anxiety is the product of research into the body and the grotesque. The brief for the project to create a final jewellery piece inspired by the touring exhibition at Mission Gallery called ‘Meanings and Messages’, and this brief was written by the ACJ (Association for Contemporary Jewellery).

My intention from the beginning of the Live Brief was to create a piece that subverted the traditional role of jewellery in the present day. Jewellery is greatly associated with beauty and awe, however I wanted to provoke a sense of discomfort and anxiety within the audience.

Amongst my copious amounts of research into the body and the grotesque, I researched teeth and asked others about any stories that they had in regard to teeth. For myself, I regularly have dreams of my teeth shattering and falling out, and these dreams can be a symbolism of anxiety and losing control. Other stories that also featured in my research from others were them describing having teeth taken out without local anaesthetic and teeth breaking in half.