FRAGILITY
Julie Usel
Switzerland

This work explores fragility as both a material and emotional condition — a state where tension, delicacy, and resilience meet. Made of paper-thin silver elements, each piece is carefully sawn and sewn onto a silk background, allowing it to move, dangle, and gently collide. Together they create a soft, fragile sound — a whisper of contact, like tiny shards of glass brushing against each other. This quiet movement and trembling surface hold both vulnerability and presence.
The necklace forms a loose, shimmering mass — light yet dense, delicate yet insistent — always on the edge of movement, of unraveling. Each fragment keeps its own identity while contributing to a fragile balance, a form held together through connection and care.
In dialogue with “Fragility” as a human experience, the piece reflects on the boundaries between strength and tenderness, presence and disappearance. Fragility here is not a weakness, but a sensitivity — being aware of every small movement and connection.

Necklace « Shimmering sound », 2025
220 x 110 x 5 mm / 20 gr
Silver 925, silk
Sawing, Embroidery

More « FRAGILITY »

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 – 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 – 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 – 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...

Fragility – Deniz Turan / UK

FRAGILITYDeniz TuranUnited Kingdom“To escape and break free, because we dream of a freer life, to grant ourselves a second chance, to leave the past behind or simply because life flows that way… Whatever the reason may be, alongside all other possibilities, migration...

Fragility – Alma Lion / Israel

FRAGILITYAlma LionIsraelThe brooch was created in October 2023 by joining an olive branch with metal. This union reveals a material tension between the cold, sharp metal and the tender, fragile olive branch. At the same time, it evokes a symbolic contrast — between...

Fragility – Rikke Lunnemann / Denmark

FRAGILITYRikke LunnemannDenmarkHow Much Care Do You Need Today? A five-meter-long bandage gilded with 24ct gold leaf. You can cut into it – a small piece if you need a little, a larger one if the day hurts. It is jewellery, but it refuses to be just jewellery. It...

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 – Marissa Saneholtz – USA

FRAGILITYMarissa SaneholtzUnited StatesIn this artwork I am referencing one of the historic purposes for enamels, to mimic gemstones and make color in jewelry more accessible while also considering the function of jewelry as a symbol of economic status. How much is...

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...