FRAGILITY
Namkyung Lee
South Korea

The plate engraved with photographic images serves as a mold that forms a single surface (or wall). On top of this, Jesmonite (an acrylic resin) is poured to cast the photographic image. The photographic image plate created in this way has a blurry intagliated or embossed quality. It also has an appropriate ambiguity. By repeating this process, the images are layered to create a three-dimensional shape. These surfaces are interlocked to express the effect of depth.
‘The space where images are left’ is a concept that allows me to visualize my work comprehensively or connotatively. The images in the work begin from the everyday gaze and ordinary surroundings. The act of containing these relieves and avoids heavy or overly profound representations of reality. I attempt to shape a space of subjective taste by uncovering and emphasizing the small aesthetic details found in reality, and infusing them into my work.
While the specific spaces remain unclear, ultimately, a clear, physical visuality is produced. Additionally, this metaphorically suggests that the images remaining in one’s mind are recalled, forgotten, and distorted repeatedly, in order to remain as beguiling as possible.

Brooch « The Remaining Scenes », 2025
65x75x30 mm / 75 gr
Jesmonite, mother of pearl, pearl, sterling silver, stainless steel. Jesmonite is poured onto photo-engraved plates to cast and form each surface.

Brooch « The Scenery », 2025
60x80x35 mm / 66 gr
Jesmonite, mother of pearl, pearl, sterling silver, stainless steel. Jesmonite is poured onto photo-engraved plates to cast and form each surface.

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Saerom Kong / South Korea

FRAGILITYSaerom KongSouth KoreaRice is small and firm, yet fragile. I was drawn to this contradiction and chose rice as the material for my jewelry. Placed upon metal, the grains transform with time and environment, carrying traces of impermanence, life, and memory....

Fragility – Kamile Staneliene / Lithuania

FRAGILITYKamile StanelieneLithuaniaSometimes in life, we face moments when we feel completely shattered and broken inside. There are times when we manage to stand up on our own and piece ourselves back together after difficult experiences, and other times when we need...

Fragility – Danni Xu / USA

FRAGILITYDanni XuUnited StatesThis body of work emerges from a personal moment of reckoning—where fragility was not an abstract idea, but a lived, shifting condition I needed to face. These pieces trace the intimate terrain of vulnerability: the quiet, unstable edges...

Fragility – Jeanne-Sophie Aas / Norway

FRAGILITYJeanne-Sophie AasNorwayControlling fragility is the core of my practice. Working with glass feels like a relationship: a cooperation where we both have needs and limits. We discover and grow together, but we are also able to hurt each other. Hot glass needs...

Fragility – Elvira Cibotti / Argentina

FRAGILITYElvira CibottiArgentinaScars Wrinkle, tear, fold, break. When we hurt ourselves, it will undoubtedly result in a mark. Acknowledging and accepting those wounds is the first step to heal, to gather strength. Not only do the scars, the damage, speak of the...

Fragility – Noy Alon / Israel

FRAGILITYNoy AlonIsraelA brooch built from ready-made pins soldered together, covered in polymer and transformed into something unexpectedly delicate. Systematically eroded, the piece reveals a paradox: structural strength that appears light and fragile. The erosion...

Fragility – Malene Kastalje / Denmark

FRAGILITYMalene KastaljeDenmarkIt was after the storm. I watched myself in the brown puddle of water. Unrecognizable. A cloud moved behind me. A bit of wind and the surface trembled, scattering my face and folding it into small, moving pieces. The ground was still...

Fragility – Lin Stanionis / USA

FRAGILITYLin StanionisUnited StatesFragility can be described as the condition of being delicate or vulnerable. The works submitted for this exhibition embody these characteristics in their forms and associative meanings. In the work, “Seed of Temptation”,...

Fragility – Yifan Peng / Belgium

FRAGILITYYifan PengBelgiumThis series is inspired by the structure of cicada wings and focuses on the contrast between fragility and strength. I am interested in how light, material, and form can reveal both stability and vulnerability at the same time. I use smoke to...

Fragility – Amertah E. Perman / USA

FRAGILITYAmertah E. PermanUnited StatesMade in response to the exhibition theme, this piece provides the wearer ready access to tissues – a tissue when you need it.The vintage floral fabric mimics both the modern American floral tissue box (standard grocery store...