Artist Statement

Jewelry has a long history of functioning as wearable objects with memories. A small piece of jewelry on our body can become the bridge between one person and another.

Humans have been using animal parts in jewelry for thousands of years. The kingfisher’s feathers have been used as ornament in China for over 1,000 years, and mostly they are used in jewelry making.

My work is a memorial for the avifauna. It serves as a place that allows me to find the balance between myself and nature. The ritualized actions from the making process help me mourn for the loss of the kingfishers, who are hunted for the bright blue feathers used in traditional jewelry. Sometimes, people put a photograph in their jewelry to keep the memory of the one they love. I use photographs from one day's experience bird watching in my thesis work. Fragments of the photos become a glimpse of the kingfisher, record its life, its existence, and become jewelry that links me together with the bird.

I have been interested in nature since I was a child, and it was one of the most exciting experiences when I was sitting by the pond to wait for a kingfisher for my first bird observation. Those small observations provide a connection between me and the surrounding environment; I want to capture those experiences and the emotions that they elicit. I am always wondering how much impact humans can have on other species, the extinction rate today is much higher than the natural rate. How much attention should we pay to those creatures? How can we stop the loss that we caused?

The kingfisher feather jewelry uses blue feathers from kingfishers, and the demand for the feathers causes the kingfisher’s death. But blue is no longer a rare material like in ancient times, therefore the value of “real kingfisher feathers” has already changed. Nothing lasts for eternity. None of the traditions, crafts, lives, or pieces of jewelry can stay forever. Moreover, feather adornments on metal can not make a beautiful life last longer.

This work is for the kingfisher, but also for all creatures on the Earth. Today, when traditional beauty conflicts with life and love, how should we rethink something we have been doing for centuries? My goal is to awaken tenderness toward other species by sharing my experience with the kingfisher.

They are so close to us, but we live in the spaces beside each other. So when I sat under the tree the day I watched for the kingfisher, the pond was like a bridge, linking me to the bird. Through the air, through the water, a blue flash broke into my vision. I press the shutter, freeze this moment, and take this eternal memory into a piece of jewelry.