FRAGILITY
Sara Shahak
Israel

Between a glass bell and an iron pendant, a material tension arises that embodies fragility as an existential condition. The glass bell, functioning as a greenhouse, seeks to protect and preserve, yet it exposes the limits of protection and the vulnerability inherent in the very act of preservation.
The pendant, made of iron sourced from industrial bells, creates an unexpected encounter between two worlds of the “bell”, glass versus metal.
Its thorny structure projects strength and inaccessibility, yet the slow rusting reveals its hidden vulnerability. This contrast raises a question: does strength truly signify endurance, or is it merely a thin shell concealing fear and exposure? And what are thorns in nature, if not a survival mechanisms that conceal softness within?
Strength falters, and the paradox becomes clear: the guarding vessel is delicate and fragile, while the pendant appears tough yet is in a stage of weakening. This reveals a shared truth that the impulse to protect, to preserve, and the need to build a wall of thorns, is itself a testament to the fear of breaking and to the deep recognition that fracture may occur.

Necklace « I am hiding », 2025
170X170X170 mm / 930 gr
Readymade Glass bell, Iron, Brass, 12K Gold-filled chain, miniature Glass balls, Glass paints, Rust
Sowing, cutting, melting, shaping, soldering, painting, gluing, polishing, rusting
Photo : Shlomi Bernthal

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Into Niilo / Belgium

FRAGILITYInto NiiloBelgiumThis work consists of a pair of interlocking knuckledusters that form a single solid object when pressed together. When separated, the phrase I wanna choose love | instead of fear becomes legible. The object is a 3D-printed steel puzzle...

Fragility – Einav Benzano / France

FRAGILITYEinav BenzanoFranceThis project contemplates HOME as a fragile talisman — a place that shelters and soothes, yet trembles with vulnerability and uncertainty. The pieces are made from mop floorcloth, a material that unravels thread by thread when touched. To...

Fragility – Daye Kim / UK

FRAGILITYDaye KimUnited KingdomSibling relationships exist at the fragile intersection of intimacy and distance. Derived from sib (kinship) and sibja (blood + "one's own"), "sibling" embodies a paradox: they are extensions of ourselves yet wholly separate. This...

Fragility – Maud Traon / UK

FRAGILITYMaud TraonUnited KingdomMaud Traon’s jewellery examines the paradox of fragility — the tension between resilience and delicacy. Her sculptural forms, with their molten-like surfaces and embedded fragments, invite us to see beauty not as perfection but as a...

Fragility – Namkyung Lee / South Korea

FRAGILITYNamkyung LeeSouth KoreaThe 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...

Fragility – Pilar Viedma / Spain

FRAGILITYPilar ViedmaSpainIn my work, I explore different ways of applying color to metal with the aim of demonstrating that, in artistic jewelry, what matters is not the material itself, but its ability to communicate with it. A few years ago, I began using the...

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 – Luisa Mucedola / Italy

FRAGILITYLuisa MucedolaItalyThrough tempered glass – strong yet vulnerable – I explore the human condition, its balance between resistance and dissolution.In each crack and fragment, I find the truth of living: strength born from limits, beauty emerging when...

Fragility – Agne Zaltauskaite / Lithuania

FRAGILITYAgne ZaltauskaiteLithuaniaIn my practice, I explore the hole as a metaphor for the unknown — a fragile space where certainty dissolves. To be within the unknown is to be exposed, vulnerable, and open to transformation.Not knowing, doubting, being uncertain —...

Fragility – Jeannette Knigge / Netherlands

FRAGILITYJeannette KniggeNetherlandsWithin the theme of Performing Identity, I have created various body-related objects; each object highlights a different part of our daily performance. Fragility is often perceived as weakness, yet in my work it becomes a space of...