Jiashan Du
About
Jiashan Du is a jewellery designer and maker, her graduated from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts (China) in 2022 with a degree in Jewellery Design and is currently studying for her Master's in Jewellery and Metal at the Royal College of Art and also specializes in computer-aided design and 3D modelling.
Her work records her experiences through the form of jewellery, and the thoughts and emotions behind them, believing that jewellery is not just an ornament, but also a way to bring people and society closer together through wearing the pieces.
Statement
Jiashan’s current project is about the range of emotions that lie behind the traditional Chinese liquor culture. In China, liquor can be regarded as a tool to connect emotionally with others, and yourself.
Almost all liquor in China is about emotional ties, such as drinking at weddings and funerals, friends' gatherings and family dinners, all of which illustrate the closeness of human relationships.
There are many emotional ties behind the culture of wine, such as socialising, emotional ties with family, and love, to name but a few.
There are various kinds of emotional ties behind the culture of liquor, and each of these is different and can be presented in different ways.
Each of Jiashan’s pieces depicts the multitude of emotional roles played by liquor in different contexts.
Family bonds
This piece is about the emotional ties between me and my family that lie behind the culture of liquor. According to Chinese beliefs, liquor should be drunk from a small glass dedicated to drinking liquor. Under what circumstances would one carelessly drink liquor from a cup that is not a liquor cup? Perhaps only when we are at home with our closest people, we may be too lazy to look for a cup and drink from a random one. I use different cups to represent me and my family, maybe a mug, maybe a bowl, maybe a teacup, and then link them together to express the emotional bond between me and my family, the feeling of being able to be reckless in front of them. The red thread is a symbol of the bond between blood and water, it is a beautiful expression of the emotional bond between me and my family. The idea that blood is thicker than water has been in our minds since the beginning of time.
Medium: Silver, Red thread, Stainless steel wire
Size: 170MM*1400MM
Drinking alone
This piece is a display of solo drinking, the wearer can see themselves in the mirror holding a liquor glass and it looks like they are clinking glasses with themselves in the mirror. The mirror is made from polished silver plate and the mirror is reversible. One of the mirrors is coloured by using Patina Oxidising Solution to create a dreamy look, but you can also faintly see your reflection in the mirror as if you are drinking with your dream self.
Medium: Sliver,Brass
Size: 150MM*100MM
Socializing
This piece is a movable structure in which two liquor cups collide when unbalanced. Through the collision of the two liquor cups, an emotional and relational connection is expressed. Each collision is like a contact and an expression of emotion during a social encounter. It is an emotional trigger is an act that I do to build our relationship. An expression of my desire to connect with you.
Medium: Sliver,Brass,Resin
Size: 180MM*120MM
Love
In the long history of traditional Chinese liquor culture, in ancient times when a couple got married they were required to drink 'cross-cups'. I think it was a way of expressing a bond of love through liquor. I have studied the gesture of 'crossed cups' and carved out traces of the fingers holding the cup so that the two wearers would unconsciously assume the 'crossed cups' position while wearing them.
Medium: Sliver,Red Thread
Size: 140MM*50MM