FRAGILITY
Namkyung Lee
South Korea

The 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 has a blurry intagliated or embossed quality. It also has an appropriate ambiguity. By repeating this process, the images are layered to create a three-dimensional shape. These surfaces are interlocked to express the effect of depth.
‘The space where images are left’ is a concept that allows me to visualize my work comprehensively or connotatively. The images in the work begin from the everyday gaze and ordinary surroundings. The act of containing these relieves and avoids heavy or overly profound representations of reality. I attempt to shape a space of subjective taste by uncovering and emphasizing the small aesthetic details found in reality, and infusing them into my work.
While the specific spaces remain unclear, ultimately, a clear, physical visuality is produced. Additionally, this metaphorically suggests that the images remaining in one’s mind are recalled, forgotten, and distorted repeatedly, in order to remain as beguiling as possible.

Brooch « The Remaining Scenes », 2025
65x75x30 mm / 75 gr
Jesmonite, mother of pearl, pearl, sterling silver, stainless steel. Jesmonite is poured onto photo-engraved plates to cast and form each surface.

Brooch « The Scenery », 2025
60x80x35 mm / 66 gr
Jesmonite, mother of pearl, pearl, sterling silver, stainless steel. Jesmonite is poured onto photo-engraved plates to cast and form each surface.

More « FRAGILITY »

Fragility – Lin Stanionis / USA

FRAGILITYLin StanionisUnited StatesFragility can be described as the condition of being delicate or vulnerable. The works submitted for this exhibition embody these characteristics in their forms and associative meanings. In the work, “Seed of Temptation”,...

Fragility – Youjin Um / South Korea

FRAGILITYYoujin UmSouth KoreaIn the daily life of the beginning and the repetition, I take the center of my mind and begin to walk on the map I drew. A lot of steps that sometimes went straight along the mind map to work or recharge, and then back again. Create...

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 – 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 – 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 – Patricia Gallucci / Argentina

FRAGILITYPatricia GallucciArgentinaHow do we move forward; how do we leave fear, memories, untold, everyday anxieties, if we are made out of them, if we keep them under our skin, if they are also part of today? When body and mind are one. Light is darkness Dream,...

Fragility – Sareh Zarghampour / Belgium

FRAGILITYSareh ZarghampourBelgiumWe give pain meaning through the moments we live with it. I explore pain not merely as a physical reaction, but as an emotional, internal state something deeply tied to human fragility. Pain is a personal and often invisible...

Fragility – Julie Usel / Switzerland

FRAGILITYJulie UselSwitzerland 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...

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 – 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....