Yilei Zhu is a jewellery artist from Beijing, China, and now lives in London. She has studied for a master's degree (jewellery & Metal) at the Royal College of Art. She graduated from the Department of Arts and Crafts, Beijing University of Technology, majoring in Metal and Jewellery. She is intensely interested in Chinese traditional culture and arts and crafts, especially Chinese traditional utensils and crafts. Her work poetically fuses tradition with contemporary coincidence. She discovered her unique insight and creativity in jewellery.
Yilei Zhu
In my work "Connect," I use filigree technology to restore Chinese antique porcelain to discuss the relationship between people and objects and between people and culture. Repairing containers doesn't just repair the object itself. More importantly, discussing the emotional connection between people and containers. As a product of human society, the container is not only a container but also a carrier of spirit and culture. As a traditional Chinese craft, filigree itself has a strong cultural symbol. Its shape is helical, and its shape is like DNA or a bond. This makes me feel very interested. This shape reminds me of the culture and spiritual inheritance behind porcelain. We can feel the inextricable connection between us and our culture through containers. When I repaired it, I not only repaired the objects themselves but also had a stronger sense of belonging to my culture. On the other hand, it restores the emotional connection between me and the traditional culture. It also expresses the emotional relationship between people and utensils.
