FRAGILITY
Jeannette Knigge
Netherlands

Within 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 tension and possibility. I explore the fragile boundaries between body and identity, between what is given and what is chosen. Fragility emerges in the way identity is performed, always adapting, always vulnerable to the gaze and expectations of others. It is present in the contradictions we embody: the desire to belong and the need to remain true to ourselves.
Through body-related objects, I highlight how easily perceptions of beauty, strength, or authenticity can shift. Fragility here is not something to conceal but to acknowledge, it reveals the fractures that shape us. In its delicacy lies resilience, as each fragment of identity contributes to an evolving whole. My pieces invite reflection on how fragility defines our human condition; tender, unstable, and yet profoundly vital.

Nose-piece « Nose Hair », 2024
30mmx15mmx13mm mm / 8 gr
18 k gold
smithing, soldering
Photo : Femke Teussink

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Eli Hubsch / Israel

FRAGILITYEli HubschIsraelI explore the tension between strength and decay, permanence and transience. Fine silver, soft yet enduring, forms delicate threads and molten structures that embrace rusted iron: a harder metal, yet one that disintegrates with time. 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 – Alicia Salcedo / Spain

FRAGILITYAlicia SalcedoSpainProtecting ourselves, seeking refuge, the shell as armor, as protection, as home.The shell that once sheltered its own life now collects a foreign element. A being that occupies an empty space previously inhabited. But it also wears away,...

Fragility – Beatrice Carlson / New Zealand

FRAGILITYBeatrice CarlsonNew ZealandHow do we refer to Fragility and how do we feel about it in our, somehow, judgemental, competitive society? Looking at synonyms, there is nothing positive about it: delicate, brittle, frail, weak, tenuous. Fragility is what some...

Fragility – Ani Flys / Spain

FRAGILITYAni FlysSpainThe "Whirlwinds" series traces fragility as both a material and a state of mind. Using broken eggshells, the work explores how what is delicate and easily fractured can, when gathered, form unexpected strength and coherence. Each fragment, once...

Fragility – Cindy Zhaohan Li / UK

FRAGILITYCindy Zhaohan-LiUnited KingdomGrowth Ribbon reflects on fragility as a generative state, where pain, transformation, and renewal coexist in the human body. I programmed the Tibetan Auspicious Ribbon Patterns into digital algorithms, transforming their...

Fragility – Yael Ouliel / Israel

FRAGILITYYael OulielIsraelThe union of rusted iron and 18-karat gold reveals fragility as a fundamental dimension of matter and existence. The iron, slowly eroded by rust, bears witness to vulnerability and transience, while the gold remains intact, its value unveiled...

Fragility – Deganit S. Shocken / Israel

FRAGILITYDeganit S. SchockenIsraelAgonies of Peace Soup Spoon, Pendant Once a vessel of care and nourishment, the soup spoon is here hollowed out, its bowl carved in negative with the word peace in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Transformed into a pendant, it can no...

Fragility – Deimezi Xenia / Greece

FRAGILITYDeimezi XeniaGreeceAt the heart of my work lies a philosophy that embraces the power of emotion as the catalyst for expression. My pieces are narratives, telling stories of the experiences that define us. The need for communication and understanding oneself...

Fragility – Aimee Howard-Clinger / USA

FRAGILITYAimee Howard-ClingerUnited StatesFragments explores the fragility of culture and identity amid the fractures of political unrest. In recent years, escalating intolerance and prejudice—expressed through divisive rhetoric and acts of violence—have revealed how...