Huimin Zhang

Fragmented

Childhood seems to me to be like a broken golden paradise. A person who has not been comforted for a long time cannot keep the innocence of a child. Time does not allow this, nor does life. .

My imagination is fading little by little. I am becoming used to judging with experience and observing with rational eyes. I am now a grown-up who is becoming ugly and growing old. And my childhood, even in pieces, is still beautiful.

These works of art may save me at some point in my life. They are some moments from childhood; some memories about innocence.

When I created this series of works, my mind was full of the smell of childhood and the little things of childhood. Before making it, I didn't imagine what it would look like after it was finished. I just recall fragments of my childhood life: I lay in the shade of a secret tree for a comfortable lunch break; I found a small flying insect as green as a fairy in the cellar for the first time; my face was wrinkled by an unknown wild fruit... ...just one piece after another. These childhood memories guided me to complete the whole work unconsciously. When I raised my head and looked at the whole work, it was really like a fragment of time with smell, light, and even sound condensed in front of me.

I hope that people who see this work can also try to appreciate it from a certain detail, then you will feel the attraction from childhood, and hope that this attraction can also attract you to this golden world.

22k Gold 7.4x5.1cm / 6.9x5.4cm

"Congratulations! You just picked up the lucky star. Please put it on the street again in a week to share your good luck with the next person." This is the text engraved on the back of the star. This piece of jewelry has a life of its own, and people's wishes help it travel in this world. The farther it travels and the more people it contacts, the stronger its power will be. So in essence, it is a collective creation, which condenses social consensus, gathers goodwill among the crowd, and is a process of spiritual mutual assistance.

2022-2023 London

So far, there have been lucky stars in 12 languages,

Lucky Star and I will travel to more places together and meet more people.

Hope to meet you next time...

boundary collective-creation contemporary-jewelry good-luck goodwill independent-life jewellery lucky share social-responsibility spread travel

All the metal materials used in the "Fragments" series were prepared by myself. During the process, a lot of material experiments were carried out and many tools were made by myself.

The most important thing is that I also experimented with a special ultra-low temperature solder and the exclusive use method of this solder. These are all to allow me to better control my work, and of course it also brings me a lot of fun.

I have collected thousands of pieces of Chinese classical jewelry in the past ten years. In my opinion, the biggest difference between them and jewelry from other countries lies in the way they are combined. It is traditionally called "Cuan Huo" in Chinese. It is very similar to a concept of painting, so I try to apply the concept to my own creation. It is a method of slowly deriving the whole from the part, treating jewelry as a painting with inner life.

In my opinion, whether it is filigree or granulation technology, no matter what kind of technical expression it is, it serves the artistic concept. If the expression is appropriate, I will use it. Thinking about these issues is based on my personal subjective condensing of these technologies, experiences, and world views. It is not universal, it is my own creative language, and these are my whispers to my heart.

In addition to the words, I said to myself, of course I also have things I want to say to the world, things I want to leave to the world. So, there is the work "Lucky Star", which means I want to use art as a tool to change the problems that exist in the reality.

Do sincere art, be a sincere person.

I am 40 years old, looking back at my previous experience, I have been pushed away by commercial design and earning money. I only have free time to do what I like - collecting antiquities and admiring the works of masters. The dream of art has given me an extra window for ventilation in my busy work. Now I finally have the opportunity to step out of this window and start a life under the water. This is a brand new journey. I hope this new venture will also be good luck!

Personal experience

Huimin Zhang graduated from the Product Design Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts

Now studying for a master's degree at the Royal College of Art.

She once obtained the PKUC Jewelry Appraiser Qualification Certificate of Peking University.

Huimin founded her own home design and jewelry design brand, and her works have been exhibited in Milan International Design Week, Las Vegas, USA and other places for many times. "Hyperion" series works are collected by Today Art Museum.

She loves traditional handicrafts and graduated from the Yanjing Bajue Master Class of the China National Art Fund. She committed to integrating classical craftsmanship and aesthetics into the lives of modern people.

Huimin Zhang

Fragmented

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About

Royal College of Art