I believe that the basic feature of the jewellery piece is to be functional. But if it is not functional, it must be on purpose. Contemporary jewellery is associated with visual scream, mysterious whisper, gentle touch, joy, splash, multiple meanings, or minimalist feelings. Agita Putane from Putti Gallery in conversation with Klimt02.

I think the wearability of jewellery is very important all the time, from ancient to contemporary. It is one of the jewellery identity.Herman Sun on his practice as jeweller.
We were brainstorming some keywords to connect with our work and concept, clear and curves are the most commonly mentioned words. Hence, while we were curating the setting for photo shooting and display, the keywords were also kept in our mind. An exhibition Review as well as an interview with the participants by Yuxi Sun from Klimt02..
And to check out: 1 new Jeweller Members: Mian Wu. New works by Jeweller Members: Nicole Schuster, Karin Johansson, Tim Peel, Simeon Shomov, Aisegul Telli and Katharina Moch. 73 Deadlines. 40 Jeweller Members on show. 35 Jeweller Members on Coming Events. 19 new Exhibitions, 2 new Open Calls... and more.


How is my jewellery functional?

My Xhosa bling contemporary jewellery is functional because it addresses the issues of materialism that are affecting the social, cultural values in the Xhosa societies, Particularly the young people, the purpose of the bling bling look is to coincide with the modern times, reason being you cant sensor the young and they are consumed by materialistic assets. Xhosa bling contemporary jewellery has to be associated with visual scream, as that attracts attention. from that attention i can be able to convey the purpose of every piece of work that has to function as reminder to the wearer what their roles are in their community.

Slide 4. Inkulu: the inheriter.

This slide shows the methodology of how i am going to manufacture contemporary jewellery according to the milestones of a Xhosa man.

In the Xhosa culture INKULU is the first born son, the one eligible for inheritance. The

inheritor could have been fortunate enough to inherit the homestead and the livestock of his

father. Of which could be converted into goods, exchange of livestock for vegetables and

paying lo bola including other services should a need arise in the society. I wanted to

manufacture a piece of jewellery that socially communicates that when worn by a person. I

looked at the cow horns and the house.

In this slide i wanted to narrate and depict the meaning of the milestone "INKULU' first i looked at what an inheritor will inherit, primitive Africans most had wealth as a form of land inheritance, moving property inheritance. land inheritance would have been the homestead and the fields to grow crops and moving property inheritance would be livestock. i chose to come up with a jewellery design that shows both systems of inheritance as this was what a xhosa man would inherit in a death of the head of the household

slide 1. Anthropology of a Xhosa man.

This is an attempt to explain my working title and the definitions of  the body of work that I will produce. This is the research report on using the anthropology of a Xhosa man to produce contemporary jewellery. This will be a study of a role of jewellery in developing a mans role in the social, cultural norms and values in his society.

This slide shows Xhosa bling, this is a catch phrase  that speak directly to the look of the contemporary jewellery I want to produce. below is an attempt to elaborate on the terms and meaning of my research report title.

Xhosa.

The Xhosa is the people, who refer to themselves as Amaxhosa, they are of Nguni stock, now found mostly in the southern part of South Africa, particularly the eastern cape. they have a diversity of proud clans, the Pondo, Bomvana, Thembu, Gcaleka, Ngqika, Ndlambe and Dushane and the Xhosa tribe itself. 

The reason i chose the Xhosa people for my research report is because firstly i am a Xhosa man and secondly i think their story as the people needs to be told, as i have this belief that their social and cultural norms can construct a life of a man in having a deep sense of his community and be a productive member of his society. 

Bling.

Bling comes from the word bling bling which is a slang term popularized on hip hop culture, referring to flashy, ostentatious or elaborate jewellery, and ornamented accessories that are carried, worn or installed such as cellphones or tooth caps.

The reason for choosing bling bling is because it is deeply attached to hip hop culture as one of its elements and is used to signal the status of the wearer, hip hop is a culture and art movement but it has become a culture of materialism. Now it is known for its negative reputation. It is often thought as an entrance way into gangs, illegal drug activity, and malicious behavior. This is because hip-hop has moved away from what it was supposed to be used for. Hip hop culture has found its ways all over the world particularly on the Youth. 

Slide 2. Introduction of the title of my research report.

This slide is an attempt to introduce the explanation of my working title and the definition of the body of work that i will produce.

the Xhosa tradition is defined along strict patriarchal order. Nuances of the Xhosa tradition captures the different social roles assigned to man and woman. below is the reasoning behind my research report topic.

Purpose of my research report.

Now living in the world of materialism I want to attempt to bring the two cultures together, I am using Xhosa culture for the content of my research report and bling for the flashy, ostentatious look to elaborate the look of my contemporary jewellery. through seeing the effects of materialism in my community I deeply feel a sense of responsibility in manufacturing contemporary jewellery that is flashy with a narrative of the Xhosa social and cultural norms that will construct a Xhosa man. Therefore I will be using the anthropology of a Xhosa man to produce bling contemporary jewellery.

from a boy to a man there are roles that a Xhosa man is responsible for. i am particularly looking at the adornments worn which i believe were distinctively able to distinguish and signal the status of the wearer and those that were worn at celebrations of particular social and cultural events of milestones.

The milestones.

Izibulo: The first born child of a married couple, either a boy or a girl.

Inkulu: Is the first born boy child, the inheritor, even if born after girls.

Inkwenkwe: a boy. looking after livestock, play with clay oxen, stick fighting.

umkhwetha: initiate, time of getting adult teachings, learns respect, and ways to honor ancestors.

Ikrwala: home coming,small unimportant man, wears red ocher.

Umfana: a worrier.

Unomgcana: married man.

Slide 3. Definitions and tthe explanations of the milestones of a xhosa man.

slide 3.

This slide shows the body of my research report, these are the milestones of a Xhosa man's life, through out my research report i will be defining and explaining the meaning and the role the production of contemporary jewellery that will make up the social roles, cultural norms and values that develops a Xhosa man in his society. below is explanations and terms of the milestones of a xhosa man.

from a boy to a man there are roles that a Xhosa man is responsible for. i am particularly looking at the adornments worn which i believe were distinctively able to distinguish and signal the status of the wearer and those that were worn at celebrations of particular social and cultural events of milestones.

The milestones.

Izibulo: The first born child of a married couple, either a boy or a girl.

Inkulu: Is the first born boy child, the inheritor, even if born after girls.

Inkwenkwe: a boy. looking after livestock, play with clay oxen, stick fighting.

umtshitsha: adolescents stage, teenager, rebel

umkhwetha: initiate, time of getting adult teachings, learns respect, and ways to honor ancestors.

Ikrwala: home coming,small unimportant man, wears red ocher.

Umfana: a worrier.

Isoka: looking for a wife.

Unomgcana: married man.

emma smith/Kenneth Shandu

My first observation of Kenneth Shandu work brought and immediate response which happened to be a question, “why am I so accustom to perfection” of which the answer as a jewellery student, the answer was jewellery is supposed to be perfect, but then then next thought that questions itself was, ‘is it? In what sense is jewellery perfect? Is it the way it is constructed or the way it appears? Quickly I reconstructed my thoughts to contemporary jewellery. Meaning that understanding things, as they seem does not mean what they appear to be. Kenneth’s work is 90 percent recycled materials particularly cut board that look provoked a feeling of things done abruptly; the construction of the human cut boards looked unfinished. In addition, the face collage that looked as not managed.

Now art has many functions, it does require one to apply themselves to the art as presented and finding out what role does the art play among its functions, reading an artist statement in particular does give perspective to that. After reading Mr. Shandu’s artist statement that did put many things into perspective, that addressed me to believe that his body of work is used as a social commentary. His art explores issues of social exclusion particularly on the homeless people. He portrays his observations, emotions, and experiences through his work. He uses metaphors to subvert stereotypes about marginalized people. In order to convey his message, he uses a range of disciples including, drawings, sculpture, and particularly he explores a concept of using cut board in conjunction with other materials such as fabrics, wood, glass, steel, and sand. Cut board is a reoccurring material that features in a number of his artworks, refer to figure 1. The use of cut board as a found object in his body of work metaphorically explains his observations of the homeless people who are not equally accommodated into society, because they do not fit neatly into social norms.

In conclusion, Kenneth Shandu’s art serves as a social commentary as he uses it as a vehicle for the delivery of content that often relates his prevalent observation of social conditions that particularly affect the homeless in the society he lives in. Trying to fully understand the art that looks unfinished as seem in human cut boards that have sticky tape not properly stuck, refer to figure 1. Lastly, collage made of brown paper looks as not managed refer to figure 2.

Both these figure to me depict the state of unfinished work that needs to be done towards eradicating homelessness and the work that needs to be done to properly manage the societies we live in. 

figure 1.

figure 2.