FRAGILITY
Henrike Altes
Germany

Breathing
Lungs. Such a strong organ, with such fragile structures. In some situations, I find it difficult to breathe or my breathing is very fast. It is directly linked to how I feel. In the same way, a deep breath can calm me down.
Lungs give us a lifetime of breath and at the same time they symbolize how fragile life is.

Necklace « Breathing », 2025
320 x 240 x 35 mm
Fabric, embroidery thread, yarn, beads
Embroidery, sewing
Photo : Claudia Fahlbusch
You can wear it from both sides

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Galit Barak / Israel

FRAGILITYGalit BarakIsraelThe artworks feature red gravel stones arranged on a mesh net facing inwards. These stones were sourced from the area of Al-Kunayyisa, an Arab village that was occupied and ethnically cleansed in 1948. Today, the village's ruins are difficult...

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 – Denis Music / Ukraine

FRAGILITYDenis MusicUkraineFragility is a state of tension — between strength and collapse, between freedom and threat, between life and its disappearance. My brooch Black Cloud was inspired by the installation of Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Sai, which rose above the...

Fragility – Eiko Nakahara / Japan

FRAGILITYEiko NakaharaJapanThings we believed would never break often turn out to be fragile, brittle, and weak. We sometimes find beauty in broken objects or ruins. Yet even if we perceive life and beauty in fragile, weak things, witnessing the scenes of frequent...

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 – Yuqi Fan / USA

FRAGILITYYuqi FanUnited StatesTo me, “Fragility” emerges in the dynamics of attachment, the way we rely on objects to express ourselves, cherish lost ones, and soothe insecurities. Through jewelry and wearable objects, I explore how these attachments reveal the...

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 – Juan Harnie / Belgium

FRAGILITYJuan HarnieBelgiumAs a child, I watched my mother repair our worn clothes. My small hands would clumsily try to help, threading needles or guiding the iron. These moments were never about perfection, but about connection. Each patch, each stitch was an act of...

Fragility – Brenda Schweder / USA

FRAGILITYBrenda SchwederUnited StatesPeople tip-toe around fragility like it’s a brittle, frail state of weakness that seeps from the outer skin of a thing and travels through and through to the core. But they don’t stop to look beneath the outer edges to what lie...

Fragility – Esteban Erosky / Spain

FRAGILITYEsteban EroskySpainWhen our weaknesses, traumas, flaws, or idiosyncrasies are exposed, we become fragile. We go from feeling secure to feeling insecure, to being vulnerable. Always showing ourselves makes us feel insecure, which is why in my pieces I address...