FRAGILITY
Juan Harnie
Belgium

As 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 care; gentle gestures that held things together a little longer. In that quiet ritual of mending, I found warmth and tenderness.
That same spirit lives on in the jewelry I create today. My pieces follow a childlike way of working: loose threads, a hint of nonchalance, a subtle imperfection that recalls those first awkward attempts beside my mother. They appear delicate, yet they endure: strong, intentional forms that carry the softness of touch, the trace of care, and the quiet strength found in things that are almost, but not quite, falling apart.

Necklace « MEND07 », 2023
310 x 560 x 4 mm / 80 gr
Handkerchiefs, sewing thread
Hand- and machine stitching

Necklace « MEND22 », 2023
Single length: 450 x 3 mm / 20 gr
Handkerchiefs, sewing thread
Hand stitched and cutted

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Barbara Schwager / Switzerland

FRAGILITY Barbara SchwagerSwitzerlandFragile Moods Moods come and go. They are subject to fluctuations and external influences. We cannot always control them in our favour—in other words, “just be happy.” Only we ourselves know how we feel—and often we have to present...

Fragility – Alissa Goble / USA

FRAGILITYAlissa GobleUnited StatesObjects have a way of holding stories, carrying traces of memory, family, and identity. I’m drawn to the quiet power of the things we keep close and how they connect us to the past. Through crochet and metalsmithing, I use making as a...

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 – 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 – Anne Blok / Netherlands

FRAGILITYAnne BlokNetherlandsThe fragile threads of memory Life is fragile; it is temporary and precious. This brooch tells the story of a young life, life in the bud and the rose that never reached full bloom. The brooch tells the story of a thirteen year-old girl....

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 – Gloria Tormo / Spain

FRAGILITYGloria TormoSpainThere is not one fragility, but countless ones. Emotional fragility, health fragility, knowledge fragility, integrity fragility, etc. Suddenly, one day, we discover that everything we believe to be strong and stable crumbles or disappears,...

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 – 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...

Fragility – Keith Lewis – USA

FRAGILITYKeith LewisUnited StatesThe Saddest Aisle Consider the Saddest Aisle, that mass of forlorn, abandoned baskets huddled together at the thrift store. In their puppy-eyed, earnest yearning they exude an almost hilarious melancholy. And they long for a new home....