Jewellery & Metal (MA)
Shengyi Chen
Shengyi Chen completed his training as Jewellery designer at Gemological Institute of America in 2013. In 2018 he graduated with Bachelor of Arts in Jewellery Design at Central Saints Martins College of Art and Design.
Modern reason has created barriers for elegant art. Art lacks the opportunity to communicate with the general public outside the elite. That’s how everything started, I want to talk to the audience directly in a unique language - Jewellery. I see my work as a sharp knife, a knife that cuts the society. what is inside the society? what is surrounding us? I am not a butcher, but I am more like an anatomist who is thirsty for the truth. As an artist, every piece of my work is a question I asked. Every thought of me is a process of refracting the outside world.
Big Brother is Watching you
There is no way to bypass politics. Even an artist who is not in contact with the outside world, all his actions and choices made in the studio alone can’t get rid of politics. As a young generation artist of China, I have grown- up in a completely different environment than the politically-motivated artists of previous generations. But it doesn’t mean Chinese art is no longer as political as it once was.
I am less interested in making superficial political signs in my practices, but I am trying to decode various layers of political information in my works, However, as an artist from China, as opposed to the West, it’s necessary to find strategies to protect my freedom to create, whilst simultaneously confronting and expressing beliefs about the socio-political issues close to my hearts. In a repressive society that shuts down public dissent against the regime and “takes away” people who don’t agree with the status quo, I am trying to find new and innovative ways to express my sentiments through art, all the while ensuring that I don’t put myself in danger. I think contemporary art should evoke social issues and bring questions to people to think about. I am not criticising the politics but bringing the discussion to the table.
I am less interested in making superficial political signs in my practices, but I am trying to decode various layers of political information in my works, However, as an artist from China, as opposed to the West, it’s necessary to find strategies to protect my freedom to create, whilst simultaneously confronting and expressing beliefs about the socio-political issues close to my hearts. In a repressive society that shuts down public dissent against the regime and “takes away” people who don’t agree with the status quo, I am trying to find new and innovative ways to express my sentiments through art, all the while ensuring that I don’t put myself in danger. I think contemporary art should evoke social issues and bring questions to people to think about. I am not criticising the politics but bringing the discussion to the table.
Medium:
Black ruthenium plated silver/DiamondSize:
55x55x15 mm
Communism party ring
Inspired by 3 leaders of Communism party, stone setting with precious stones in the eye.
We see the future
Long Live Communism
We see the future
Long Live Communism
Medium:
Black ruthenium plated silver/DiamondSize:
20x26x30mm
Chairman
Chairman
Chairman
Inspired by the word “Chairman”.
Who dares to sit?
Who dares to sit?
Medium:
WoodSize:
500x560x630mm
communism engagement ring
Inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop Art and Communism’s icon Red Star.
I do not have a bourgeois diamond, instead of a Communism Red Star.
Will you marry me?
I do not have a bourgeois diamond, instead of a Communism Red Star.
Will you marry me?
Medium:
Red Coral/18k goldSize:
40x15x15mm
communism sale
A Communism Red Star for sale
Medium:
Red Coral/18K GoldSize:
25x25x5mm
Mickey Mastercard
Inspired by the trip to HK Disney Land, Master card logo in the gift shop
Medium:
Black Ruthenium plated Brass,Copper/SilkSize:
35x40x10mm
Your turn is 2020
A brooch made for 2020’s American Presidential Election, To questioning Trump's eligibility as president.
Medium:
Gold plated silverSize:
50x25x0.8mm
Nailed it
Speaking of love
A story based on an online break-up
